What can a new commissioner do on day 1
One of the big challenges a new Commissioner faces is bring their DG under control.
They’ll need to make sure that the DG works to deliver on the new Commission’s mandate.
It won’t be easy. Officials have spent the last 5 years being instructed to push out legislation at break neck speed.
Now they have been asked to simplify, make things competitive and enforce.
That it is the same political leadership and the same staff in the SecGen giving what may be opposite instructions from one day to the next is going to confuse some staff.. They’ll be good civil servants and get with the new programme.
I smiled today when I heard some officials were shocked at their Commissioner-designate’s answers to EP questions. It was not the answer they wanted.
The new Commissioner will find it hard to make sure the staff come on board and follow the new mandate.
Here are some things a new Commissioner can do.
Say No. They will face a flurry of ideas in the DG briefing book to push through or take up in the first or second work programme and 100 day plans. They need to say “No, thank you”.
Make sure that they validate every initiative personally. Anything that is unclear or has the hint of being against their Mission Letter, don’t sign off on.
At a stroke, all policy initiatives, ordinary legislative proposals, secondary legislation and negotiation mandates will be stalled.
Require that all files are sent two weeks in advance to allow a pre-read by the Cabinet and make enquiries.
Make sure that the Commissioner has a Head of Cabinet who knows every trick in the game that will be used to bypass validation and sign off. And, they find it easy saying “No”.
Choose a Cabinet who have the issue and process expertise to make sure that there are no rogue files in the work. They need to be zealous in saying “No”.
Make sure the Commissioner chooses a Director-General who will manage the Services. Tony Blair in this latest book highlights the importance of this. They need to block all work that has received a “No” and is not in the mission letter, work programme, 100 day plan.
Maybe add some legitimate hurdles. All files have to be delivered in paper on a Thursday at 7.30 pm and in person, and be available to answer questions.
Some officials may be frustrated that their dreams of passing one more regulation are stifled. But, don’t worry. They’ll now have time to work on a more important project: the implementation and enforcement of the many laws on the statute book. They could also call out those Member States who platinum plate EU laws into a national grotesque distortion of the original intent.
The real challenges will be finding officials who will be puritanical in their zeal, 100% of the time, to say “No” and make sure no rogue files slip through.
The upsides are tremendous.
Less staff burn out that plagued the last commission.
More focused delivery. Being big on the big things, and small and maybe absent on the small things would be a nice place to return to.
A Commissioner who can sleep at night knowing that they won’t wake up to the news of some politically bonkers delegated act by their DG having slipped through the feeble systems of political oversight in the Commission.
And, maybe for rhetorical first time in a long time, a serious focus on enforcement and implementation.