View source for Social:Santer Commission

{{short description|European Commission between 23 January 1995 and 15 March 1999}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox European Commission
| cabinet_name            = Santer Commission
| cabinet_number          = 2nd
| incumbent               = 
| image                   = Jacques Santer 1994 (cropped).jpg
| caption                 = 
| date_formed             = {{Start date|1995|01|23|df=y}}
| date_dissolved          = {{End date|1999|03|15|df=y}}
| commission_head         = 
| commission_head_history = 
| deputy_commission_head  =
| state_head              = 
| members_number          = 
| former_members_number   = 
| total_number            = 
| political_parties       = <!-- or | political_party = -->
| legislature_status      = 
| opposition_cabinet      = 
| opposition_party        = <!-- or | opposition_parties = -->
| opposition_leader       = <!-- or | opposition_leaders = -->
| election                = 1994 European Parliament election
| last_election           = 
| legislature_term        = 
| budget                  = 
| advice_and_consent1     = 
| advice_and_consent2     = <!-- up to 5 times -->
| incoming_formation      = 
| outgoing_formation      = 
| predecessor             = Delors Commission
| successor               = Prodi Commission
}}
The '''Santer Commission''' (sahn-TEHR) was the European Commission in office between 23 January 1995 and 15 March 1999. The administration was led by Jacques Santer (former Prime Minister of Luxembourg).

The body had 20 members and oversaw the introduction of the [[Finance:Euro|euro]]. It was cut short when the Commission became the first to resign ''en masse'', owing to allegations of corruption. Some members continued under Manuel Marín until the Prodi Commission was appointed.

==Appointment==
In 1994, Jacques Delors was due to step down from a successful tenure as President of the European Commission. However, his federalist style was not to the liking of many national governments. Hence, when Jean-Luc Dehaene (the then Prime Minister of Belgium) was nominated as his successor, he was vetoed by the UK on the grounds he was too federalist. Jacques Santer, then-Prime Minister of Luxembourg, was seen as less federalist, for his presidency had earlier proposed the pillar structure. Hence, he was nominated and approved by the European Council on 15 July 1994.<ref name="ENA">{{cite web |title=The crisis of the Santer Commission |publisher=CVCE (Centre for European Studies) |url=http://www.cvce.eu/obj/the_crisis_of_the_santer_commission-en-7380f95b-1fb2-484d-a262-d870a0d5d74d.html |accessdate=4 May 2013}}</ref>

Being seen as the "second choice" weakened Santer's position, with the European Parliament approving him only by a narrow majority.<ref name="ENA"/> He himself admitted that he "was not the first choice – but to become Commission president was not my first choice either."<ref name="E!Sharp Jan8 EV">{{cite journal |last=Meade |first=Geoff |title=Euroville |journal=E!Sharp Magazine |pages=63 |date=January–February 2008 |publisher=Encompass Publications}}</ref> He did, however, flex his powers over the nominations for the other Commissioners. The President gained this power under the [[Finance:Maastricht Treaty|Maastricht Treaty]] that came into force the previous year. On 18 January 1995, he got his Commission approved by Parliament by 416 votes to 103 (a larger majority than expected) and they were appointed by the council on 23 January.<ref name="ENA"/>

==Early work==
The Santer Commission oversaw the development of the Treaty of Nice before it was signed in 2000, negotiations with those countries to join in 2004 and the signing of the Amsterdam Treaty in 1997.<ref>{{cite web |title=Discover the former Presidents: The Santer Commission |publisher=Europa |url=http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/history/santer/index_en.htm |accessdate=23 August 2007}}</ref>

Notably it contributed to the development of the euro and issued a series of [[Green paper|green paper]]s based on Commissioner Yves-Thibault de Silguy's work. The commission also developed the [[Finance:Euro sign|euro currency symbol]]. The euro was established on 1999-01-01. The commission also continued Delors's social agenda, pushed for more powers in that field including tackling unemployment and began proposals for the reform of the [[Social:Common Agricultural Policy|Common Agricultural Policy]].<ref name="ENA"/>

Santer, desiring a quotable slogan for his administration, stated his Commissions aim would be "to do less, but do it better" (a slogan adopted and adapted by many since). Although just a [[Social:Sound bite|sound bite]], it struck a chord for some thinking the Community needed a rest after the new treaties and the euro, even if the nature of the Community itself requires movements and new projects to keep it busy.<ref name="E!Sharp Jan8 EV"/> However, during 1998 the commission began to lose authority due to management criticisms from the Parliament.<ref name="ENA"/>

==Budget controversy==
The [[Finance:Budget of the European Union|community's budget]] for each year needs to be discharged by the Parliament following its report by the [[Social:European Court of Auditors|European Court of Auditors]]. It had only refused to do so once previously, in 1984.<ref name="background">{{cite web | title=Budgetary control: 1996 discharge raises issue of confidence in the Commission  | publisher =Europa| year=1999  | url =http://www.europarl.europa.eu/election/bilan/en/pf1901en.htm | accessdate = 15 October 2007 }}</ref> Towards the end of 1998 the Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control initially refused to discharge the [[Finance:Budget of the European Union|community's budget]] for 1996 over what it saw as the arrogance of the Commission in its refusal to answer questions relating to financial mismanagement.<ref name="Hoskyns">{{cite book| last = Hoskyns | first = Catherine |author2=Michael Newman  | title = Democratizing the European Union: Issues for the twenty-first Century (Perspectives on Democratization | publisher = Manchester University Press | year = 2000 | pages=106–7 | isbn = 978-0-7190-5666-6 }}</ref> Paul van Buitenen, a whistle-blower working in the commission, had sent the Parliament a report alleging widespread fraud and cover ups, stating: ''"I found strong indications that . . . auditors have been hindered in their investigations and that officials received instructions to obstruct the audit examinations . . . The commission is a closed culture and they want to keep it that way, and my objective is to open it up, to create more transparency and to put power where it belongs – and that's in the democratically-elected European Parliament."'' In response, the Commission suspended him on half pay for releasing details of an inquiry.<ref name="Buitenen">{{cite web | title=EU chief: No fraud cover-up  | publisher =BBC News| date=7 January 1999  | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/250052.stm | accessdate = 7 October 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Paul van Buitenen |title=Blowing the Whistle: Fraud in the European Commission |publisher=Politicos Pub |year=2000 |isbn=9781902301464}}</ref>

However it eventually supported the discharge 14 to 13 on 11 December, recommending that the plenary support the discharge. It was taken to plenary for debate four days later however the assigned rapporteur publicly went against the committee's official position and urged the plenary to reject the discharge motion. President Santer announced that the commission would treat the vote of discharge as one of confidence. In a vote on 17 December 1998, the Parliament denied the discharge.<ref name="Ringe">{{cite web  | last =Ringer  | first =Nils F.  | title =The Santer Commission Resignation Crisis  | publisher =University of Pittsburgh  |date=February 2003  | url =http://aei.pitt.edu/2919/01/156.pdf  | accessdate = 7 October 2007 }}</ref>

In response, on the basis it was tantamount to a vote of no confidence, the President of the intra-national Party of European Socialists (PES), Pauline Green, announced she would put forward a motion of censure. However the PES would vote against its own motion, as there is no method for a motion of confidence.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/historic_moments/newsid_8207000/8207105.stm BBC Democracy Live: 14 January 1999: Crisis in the EU]</ref> During this period, the Parliament took on an increased government-opposition dynamic, with the PES as a party supporting the commission and the intra-national European People's Party (EPP) renouncing its support and acting as a ''de facto'' opposition party to the executive.<ref name="Ringe"/> This was in part because the allegations centred on Édith Cresson and Manuel Marín, both from the Socialist party (PES). It was seen by some that it was an attempt by the EPP to discredit the PES ahead of the 1999 elections. This led to hesitation from the PES leadership, who were the largest group in Parliament, to support the allegations.<ref name="Hoskyns"/> Motions tabled by the two groups outlined the differing stances the EPP favouring individual responsibility (only censuring those who the main allegations were against) and the PES favouring an emphasis on collective responsibility (so EPP members such as the President, as well as PES members, would be forced to resign). The PES resolution also proposed establishing a committee of independent experts to investigate the allegations.<ref name="Ringe"/>

==Resignation==
Following negotiations, including national governments pressuring their MEPs,<ref name="Hoskyns"/> the Parliament met to vote on the resolutions on 14 January 1999. It accepted the PES resolution and turned down a censure motion 293 to 232. A ''Committee of Independent Experts'' was set up with its members appointed by the political leaders in Parliament and the commission.<ref name="Ringe"/> A number of high-profile figures<ref>André Middelhoek (chair) Inga-Britt Ahlenius, Juan Antonio Carillo Salcedo, Pierre Lelong and Walter van Gerven</ref> were appointed and President Santer agreed to "respond" to its findings.<ref name="Hoskyns"/> The report was produced on 15 March 1999 and was presented to the Commission and Parliament. It largely cleared most members, aside from Cresson, but concluded that there was growing reluctance of the Commissioners to acknowledge responsibility and that "It was becoming increasingly difficult to find anyone who had the slightest sense of responsibility."<ref name="Ringe"/>

[[Image:Santer Commission.jpg|thumb|The entire Santer Commission resigned in response to the report]]
In response to the report, the PES withdrew their support from the Commission<ref name="Ringe"/> and joined the other groups stating that unless the Commission resigned of its own accord, it would be forced to do so.<ref name="EV"/> So, on the night of 15 March, Santer announced the mass resignation of his Commission.<ref name="Ringe"/> The morning following the resignation, against the recommendation of his advisors, Santer attacked the conclusions of Committee.<ref name="EV"/> The report was seen to be even in criticising not only PES members but also the workings of the Commission itself. It also exposed the situation that neither Parliament, nor the President, could force the resignation of individual Commissioners as they could only be 'recalled' by national governments. The French government refused to recall Cresson,<ref name="Hoskyns"/> who refused to resign of her own accord, which sparked the need for a mass resignation. Commissioner Mario Monti criticised this, stating that "This Commission has collectively resigned, I believe, not because of collective responsibility but because certain members of it preferred not to take their own individual responsibilities."<ref name="EV">{{cite web | last =Harding | first =Gareth | title =Unfolding drama of the Commission's demise | date =18 March 1999 | publisher =European Voice | url =http://www.europeanvoice.com/archive/article.asp?id=8627 | archive-url =https://archive.today/20090226112557/http://www.europeanvoice.com/archive/article.asp?id=8627 | url-status =dead | archive-date =26 February 2009 | accessdate =7 October 2007 }}</ref> Édith Cresson went before the European Court of Justice and, in July 2006, was found guilty but was not stripped of her pension.<ref name="Cresson">{{cite web | title=Court rules against ex-French PM  | publisher =BBC News  | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5167940.stm | accessdate = 7 October 2007  | date=11 July 2006}}</ref> Cresson today is largely held accountable for the fall of Santer (who went on to serve as an MEP and never fully recovered), and the rest of his Commission.<ref name="E!Sharp Jan8 EV"/>

==Repercussions==
The immediate effect was that the politically weakened Commission was unable to react to the beginning of the Kosovo War and the close of the Agenda 2000 negotiations. The crisis had compounded the already reduced powers of the Commission in favour of the Parliament's legislative power, the council's foreign policy role and the ECB's financial role. However the change with Parliament was the most profound, the previous permanent cooperation between the two bodies came to an end with the shift in power.<ref name="Topan">{{cite web | last = Topan | first = Angelina | title= The resignation of the Santer-Commission: the impact of 'trust' and 'reputation'  | publisher = European Integration online Papers | date = 30 September 2002 | url = http://eiop.or.at/eiop/texte/2002-014.htm | accessdate = 7 October 2007 }}</ref>

It was hoped by the leaders in Parliament that such a political challenge would generate useful publicity ahead of the elections, with previous polls producing a low turn out with a perception of the body being powerless. In this respect the affair did generate extensive media attention with the Parliament now seeming 'dramatic'. The committee report also was written in an unusually accessible manner, filled with soundbites. Further more it also drew greater attention from the council to a Parliament willing to exercise its powers. Hence when the Council came in to agree on a new president, it was clear that the candidate had to be acceptable to parliament.<ref name="Hoskyns"/> The crisis also displayed the increasing party competition within the Parliament, leading to the development of a Parliamentary system between the executive and legislative branches. Indeed, it can be seen that the government-opposition dynamic of the two main parties in Parliament aggravated the development of the crisis and contributed to the downfall of the commission.<ref name="Ringe"/>

The Prodi Commission, which succeeded Marín's caretaker administration, announced a zero-tolerance approach to fraud. Following pressure from Parliament, the Commission quickly established OLAF, an anti-fraud office which replaced the Unit for the Co-ordination of Fraud Protection (UCLAF) established in 1988<ref name="OLAF">{{cite web|title=EU Budget Fraud |publisher=politics.co.uk |url=http://www.politics.co.uk/issue-briefs/europe/eu-budget/eu-budget-fraud/eu-budget-fraud-$366701.htm |accessdate=7 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211092606/http://www.politics.co.uk/issue-briefs/europe/eu-budget/eu-budget-fraud/eu-budget-fraud-$366701.htm |archivedate=11 February 2007 }}</ref> and seen as having failed in its duty.<ref name="ENA"/> OLAF was established with more powers and to be more independent, especially in terms of investigation where they are formally autonomous from the commission.<ref name="OLAF"/> There were a few members who survived the Santer Commission to continue under Prodi: Franz Fischler, Erkki Liikanen, Mario Monti and [[Biography:Neil Kinnock|Neil Kinnock]]. The latter was appointed to undertake institutional reform.<ref name="ENA"/>

The reappointment of some of these members showed that individual Commissioners still maintained their own reputations despite the massive loss of face of the institution as a whole, while Cresson would have never been able to have been reappointed. The Commission itself suffered from a loss of trust and reputation, only compounded by the post-Delors mood. Prodi had to deal with increased euroscepticism which helped bring down the Santer Commission. Since the end of the Delors era, pro-integrationism had given way with greater concern about the commission's powers. By just 2000 the Council curbed the commission's powers once more when they believed Prodi overstepped his remit.<ref name="Topan"/>

==College==
The Commission college had 20 members (two for the largest five member states, one each for the remainder) and included Commissioners from new member states Sweden, Finland and Austria. Had Norway not rejected EU membership in 1995, their Commissioner would have been Thorvald Stoltenberg who was proposed as Commissioner for Fisheries;<ref name="Composition">{{cite web | title = Division of portfolios in the new Commission | date = 29 October 1994 | publisher =Europa | url =http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/94/1002&format=HTML&aged=1&language=EN&guiLanguage=en | accessdate = 18 January 2008 }}</ref>

<small>'''Parties:''' &nbsp; [<span style="background-color:#FFE8E8">&nbsp;9&nbsp;</span>]&nbsp;left (PES) – [<span style="background-color:#FFFFDD">&nbsp;2&nbsp;</span>]&nbsp;centre (ELDR) – [<span style="background-color:#DDEEFF">&nbsp;7&nbsp;</span>]&nbsp;right (EPP/ED/AEN) – [<span style="background-color:white">&nbsp;2&nbsp;</span>]&nbsp;''independent''</small>

{| cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 border=1 width=100% style="border-collapse:collapse; border:#555;" class="sortable"
|-
!  bgcolor="#99BADD"|Portfolio(s)
!  bgcolor="#99BADD"|Commissioner
!  bgcolor="#99BADD"|State
!  bgcolor="#99BADD"|Party
|-
|---- bgcolor=#DDEEFF
|President<br /><small>Secretariat-General, Legal Service, Security Office, Forward Studies Unit, Inspectorate General,<br /> Joint Interpreting and Conference Service (SCIC), Spokesman's Service, Monetary Matters (with<br />de Silguy), CFSP (with van den Broek) and Institutional Questions for the 1996 IGC (with Oreja)</small>
|Jacques Santer
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Luxembourg}}<br />Luxembourg
|CSV<br />EPP
|---- bgcolor=#DDEEFF
|Vice-President; Commercial Policy and External Relations<br /><small>with North America, [[Place:Australasia|Australasia]], East Asia, the OECD and [[Organization:World Trade Organization|WTO]]</small>
|Leon Brittan
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|United Kingdom}}<br />United Kingdom
|[[Finance:Conservative Party (UK)|Con.]]<br />ED
|---- bgcolor=#FFE8E8
|Vice-President; External Relations<br /><small>with the Southern Mediterranean, Latin America and the Middle East</small>
|Manuel Marin
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Spain}}<br />Spain
|PSOE<br />PES
|---- bgcolor=
|Internal Market, Services Customs and Taxation
|Mario Monti
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Italy}}<br />Italy
|''independent''
|---- bgcolor=#DDEEFF
|Agriculture & Rural Development
|Franz Fischler
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Austria}}<br />Austria
|ÖVP<br />EPP
|---- bgcolor=#FFE8E8
|Competition
|Karel Van Miert
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Belgium}}<br />Belgium
|SP<br />PES
|---- bgcolor=
|Economic & Financial Affairs<br /><small>Inc. Credit and Investments, the Statistical Office and Monetary Matters (with the President)</small>
|Yves-Thibault de Silguy
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|France}}<br />France
|''independent''
|---- bgcolor=#DDEEFF
|Employment & Social Affairs and relations with the EESC
|Pádraig Flynn
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Ireland}}<br />Ireland
|FF<br />AEN
|---- bgcolor=#FFFFDD
|Consumer Policy, Fisheries and ECHO
|Emma Bonino
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Italy}}<br />Italy
|TRP<br />ELDR
|---- bgcolor=#FFE8E8
|Environment and [[Organization:Euratom|nuclear security]]
|Ritt Bjerregaard
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Denmark}}<br />Denmark
|SD<br />PES
|---- bgcolor=#FFFFDD
|Industrial affairs, Information & Telecommunications Technologies
|Martin Bangemann
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Germany}}<br />Germany
|FDP<br />ELDR
|---- bgcolor=#FFE8E8
|Transport, including TEN
|[[Biography:Neil Kinnock|Neil Kinnock]]
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|United Kingdom}}<br />United Kingdom
|Labour<br />PES
|---- bgcolor=#FFE8E8
|Energy, [[Organization:Euratom|Euratom]] Supply Agency, SMEs and Tourism
|Christos Papoutsis 
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Greece}}<br />Greece
|PASOK<br />PES
|----bgcolor=#FFE8E8
|Immigration, Justice & Home Affairs, Financial Control,<br />Anti-fraud and Relations with the European Ombudsman.
|Anita Gradin
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Sweden}}<br />Sweden
|SDWP<br />PES
|----bgcolor=#FFE8E8
|Budget, Personnel and Administration
|Erkki Liikanen
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Finland}}<br />Finland
|SDP<br />PES
|---- bgcolor=#FFE8E8
|Regional Policy<br /><small>Inc. Cohesion Fund (with Kinnock & Bjerregaard) and relations with the Committee of the Regions</small>
|Monika Wulf-Mathies
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Germany}}<br />Germany
|SPD<br />PES
|---- bgcolor=#FFE8E8
|Research, Science & Technology<br /><small>Joint Research Centre, Human Resources, Education, Training and Youth</small>
|Édith Cresson
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|France}}<br />France
|PS<br />PES
|---- bgcolor=#DDEEFF
|Relations with central and eastern Europe, CFSP and the External Service
|Hans van den Broek
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Netherlands}}<br />Netherlands
|CDA<br />EPP
|---- bgcolor=#DDEEFF
|Relations with African, Caribbean, Pacific Countries,<br />South Africa and the [[Finance:Lomé Convention|Lomé Convention]]
|João de Deus Pinheiro
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Portugal}}<br />Portugal
|PSD<br />EPP
|---- bgcolor=#DDEEFF
|Relations with the European Parliament, Culture, Audiovisual Policy,<br /><small>Relations with the European Parliament, Communication, Information, Openness,<br />Publications Office and Institutional Questions for the 1996 IGC (with the President)</small>
|Marcelino Oreja
|style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Spain}}<br />Spain
|PP<br />EPP
|-
|}

==See also==
* History of the European Union (1993-1999)
* Breydel building

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.europarl.europa.eu/experts/default_en.htm Committee of Independent Experts], Europa (web portal)


[[Category:Political corruption]]

{{Sourceattribution|Santer Commission}}