Politicisation
Commissioners are also required to remain above national politics while exercising their duties in the Commission in order to maintain independence. However that requirement has slowly been eroded as the institution has become more politicised. During the Prodi Commission, Anna Diamantopoulou (Employment and Social Affairs) took leave from the Commission to participate in the 2004 Greek elections and resigned when she won a seat despite her party losing. Romano Prodi campaigned in the 2001 Italian elections while still President.
Recently, Louis Michel (Development & Humanitarian Aid) announced that he would go on unpaid leave to take part in the 2007 Belgian elections. Although he positioned himself so as not to be elected, the European Parliament's development committee asked the Parliament's legal service to assess if his participation violated the treaties. Michel claimed that politicisation of this manner is part of reconnecting the Union with its citizens. The Commission revised its code of conduct for Commissioners allowing them to "be active members of political parties or trade unions." To participate in an election campaign they are required to "withdraw from the work of the Commission for the duration of the campaign."
This does throw their independence in doubt, where a politician leaves their national scene for one or two terms and returns to it for a new job. Most in essence owe their positions to nomination and support from national party leaders and parties they have been aligned to; usually seeking to return to the party-political fray.
Politicisation has even gone so far as commissioners backing national candidates, with Neelie Kroes (Competition) backing Angela Merkel in the 2005 German elections and Margot Wallström (Institutional Relations & Communication Strategy) backing Ségolène Royal in the 2007 French elections. Wallström defended this claiming that the EU has to get more political and controversial as being a vital role in communicating the Commission. Wallström has been notable for engaging in debate and politics, she was the first commissioner to start her own blog.
However their political nature can also cause problems in their habit of leaving the job early in the final years of the Commission to take up new national posts. In seeking to secure their post-Commission job, they can undermine the work of the Commission. Following elections in Cyprus, Commissioner Kyprianou left to become Cypriot Foreign Minister. Likewise, Commissioner Frattini left to do the same following elections in Italy. During the previous Prodi Commission, Pedro Solbes left to become the Spanish finance minister, Michel Barnier left to become French foreign minister, Erkki Liikanen left to become head of a Helsinki bank and Anna Diamantopoulou also resigned early. Even President Prodi started campaigning in the Italian elections before his term as head of the Commission was over.
Appointment to the Commission has the effect of removing a political figure from a country for a period of years, and this has been compared to the ancient Athenian practice of ostracism.
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