Letter: EU under scrutiny

Sir: As long as the European Commission struggles with its dual function of executive and administration, as long as the European Parliament has restricted control over it, and as long as the appointments of its President and commissioners are the subject of horse trading between member- state governments, the prospect of malpractices will remain, and the EU will lack credibility in the eyes of the citizens it serves.

If, however, the Commission were to be selected by the Parliament - the only body with a democratic mandate at EU level - the lines of accountability would be strengthened and the commissioners answerable, through the Parliament, to us, the citizens of the EU.

The Parliament's bombshell may, in fact, have been the best thing that could happen to the Commission. Setting in motion the democratisation of the EU, along with other reforms, should finally persuade people that the EU is relevant to ordinary citizens

ROSALIND GILL

Oxford