Should Barroso bear the consequences and resign, even before he has officially assumed office?
The constitution already states that in future the president of the Commission must be selected on the basis of the results of European elections. This is, to a certain extent, already the case [as Barroso was put forward by the party with the biggest Parliamentary majority] but is not formally part of the procedure. Only after his third attempt, behind closed doors, was Barroso appointed head of government. This procedure has to be fundamentally changed by 2009. The President of the Commission must be chosen after European elections by open negotiations between the different Parliamentary groups and the President of the Council, if one exists by then. That is quite a different procedure to the current summits of heads of state and government, whispering behind closed doors.