18th March 1999

This week: The Resignation of the European Commission

The Commission resigned in response to the indictment made by the five independent experts appointed by the European parliament. They found that widespread fraud and mismanagement had been tolerated by this commission and all its members should be held responsible. But Jacques Santer, the Commission President for the past four years, had struck back, saying he himself was whiter than white and that the reports findings were quite unjustified.

indictment:a formal way of saying how bad a situation is.

tolerated: allowed a situation to happen

struck back: hit back at someone who has hurt you- here, verbally

whiter than white: phrase which exaggerates how innocent a person is (can also be used negatively)

The low key political response to the dramatic resignation of the whole commission is bound to raise questions about the EU’s will to put right the failings of the Commission which have been exposed. Britain’s Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has called for root and branch reform in Europe to take account of these events but other member states, including the German Presidency, have yet to show the stomach to make the outgoing Commission really do what it said it had done and resign.

low key: a limited or weak response

is bound to: phrase used when you are certain that something will happen

put right: to correct something

root and branch: phrase that suggests that changes need to be made at all levels

to show the stomach: a polite way to say someone doesn't have the strength or courage to follow something through