The new European Commission: Opinions on Joaquín Almunia

As I have announced when the new Commission was presented by Barroso, we should take a look at the new (and old) Commissioners to see their qualifications for the job.

Via the German-language Kartellblog I was made aware of a collection of law-firm opinions on the future Commissioner for Competition, Joaquín Almunia, so far Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, opinions that are astonishingly positive and paint a picture of a competent person - despite his left-wing political background.

This sounds rather authoritative to me, but a look through blog reactions on Almunia over the last two weeks shows that these either very general or rather superficial, so I am not sure that this is the full picture.

For those who want to get a live impression of Almunia, I have found a one-hour English language interview where he speaks about his work in the Commission and on EU economic policies:



But I'd be glad if some of you have further opinions on Joaquín Almunia, his qualification for the new portfolio, and his task of being a vice-president of the Commission.