European Commissioners grilled

Britain's controversial nominee for the EU's top financial services job sought to reassure the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday that he would not be a champion of London's influential financial sector in his new European role.

The Conservative member of the House of Lords Jonathan Hill, a former lobbyist and something of a euroskeptic, said he was committed to Europe as the UK prepared for a possible referendum on EU membership - promised by the ruling Tories for 2017 if they can win re-election next year.

"I want Britain to be part of a successful European Union," Hill told the Brussels hearing, after opening in a mixture of Italian and French that included a self-deprecating joke about his limited language skills. "I want to work for the common European interest."

Hill voiced support for key existing EU plans for financial sector reform, such as moves towards a banking union, a limit on bankers' bonuses, and the plans for a tax on financial transactions - a highly unpopular move in London's banking circles.

"I am not here as a representative of the City of London," Hill said.

The softly-spoken Conservative also won a round of applause for batting back a question from an MEP from Britain's explicitly euroskeptic UKIP party. Hill prompted a ripple of laughter when he said he did not believe Queen Elizabeth II would object to him taking the oath of office as a European Commissioner having also sworn an oath of loyalty to the British regent.

One German pro-business liberal, Michael Theurer, was not entirely impressed, acusing Hill of showing "impressive rhetorical brilliance but a fundamental lack of substance" for a more floundering response on his views of euro zone bonds and reducing the risks of major banks facing financial difficulties.

Canete ducks conflict of interest questions

The Spanish candidate as climate commissioner, Miguel Arias Canete, faced a rougher ride than Hill in Brussels on Wednesday. Canete's interrogation followed a petition signed by almost 300,000 people, including 76 MEPs, against his appointment; the Greens and the far-left staged a protest against the Spanish commissioner-designate ahead of his hearing.

Canete, who was forced to sell his shares in two oil firms in September because of his nomination, is accused of a conflict of interest and a history of favoring fossil fuel companies in Spain. Canete told politicians that his son and wife had similarly given up their interests in the industry, only to come unstuck on questions about his brother-in-law.

The parliamentarians in Brussels apparently showed no mercy once the Spanish conservative ducked the issue, repeating the question multiple times.

The former Spanish minister for agriculture, food and the environment also apologized on Wednesday for contentious comments he had made on Spanish television, when he said he could no longer display his intellectual superiority against a woman for fear of being branded macho.

"I made an unfortunate observation," the 64-year-old said. "I would like to apologize for that once again today." Canete said he was "firmly convinced" the gender equality was a "basic pillar of a just and prosperous Europe."

Hungary's reformers also in spotlight

One of the last possible commissioners to face the European Parliament in Wednesday's marathon session, due to run late into the evening, was Hungary's Tibor Navracsics. The former justice minister is set to become commissioner for education but is considered a close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and a driving force behind Hungarian reforms that have been broadly criticized by the EU. Hungary's crackdown on the justice system and media regulations prompted fierce criticism from the European Commission, while Brussels successfully stopped planned changes to the country's banking system in January 2012.

All of Jean-Claude Juncker's proposed commissioners require parliamentary approval, MEPs can ask for candidates to be removed or allocated a different portfolio, as was the case with the last two commissions in 2004 and 2009. The European Commission is the EU's executive branch, in charge of spearheading the bloc's policy for the next five years.

msh/glb (AFP, dpa, epd, Reuters)