Barroso, the fireman who got there late

To perfect the “Stabilisation Mechanism” set up by the EU 27 on 9 May, the European Commission suggests Brussels vet member state master budgets before they are reviewed by national parliament. This prospect, reports Le Monde, has "annoyed some and angered others[…].Appointing an overseer is light years from the intelligent coordination we need”, editorialises the Parisian daily. "First of all, the president of the European Commission is in no position to suggest anything of the sort. Barroso was absent and as though paralysed by the 2008 financial crisis, the 2009 recession and the Greek debt crisis in 2010: he’s the fireman who got there late.” Ultimately, concludes Le Monde, "and this is the main thing, this initiative once again shows Europe’s democracy deficit. Re-elected to head the Commission a few months ago by the heads of state – whom he does not overshadow by any stretch of the imagination – Barroso doesn’t seem to have learned anything since the European Constitution went belly-flop in 2005".