EU “Competition Czarina” Hires new Lieutenant

The incoming commissioner for the digital agenda, Neelie Kroes, is planning to hire Dutch Prince Constantijn for her cabinet, despite pressure to reduce nations' hold over the top political levels of the European Commission.

It takes a certain panache to do this, and even more not to crack up.

Constantjin, the youngest son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, is expected to help Commissioner Kroes to develop her digital agenda. The new cabinet is set to take office on 10 February, together with the new Commission as a whole.

The appointment of Constantjin is a cause for concern in Brussels, since it comes just as the EU executive is trying to make the cabinets of commissioners less nationally-oriented.

It’s all in a day’s work for EUvian department of fairness. I guess they’ll get to nepotism and unelected appointments, especially of inherited positions of leadership, some other century.

Kroes is not the first Dutch commissioner to maintain close links to the crown. Indeed, Prince Constantijn has already served as a cabinet member of a Dutch commissioner. He worked for Hans van den Broek in the Commission chaired by Jacques Santer, until the entire college was forced to resign amid accusations of financial fraud and nepotism.

Elsewhere: excellent opportunities available to any charlatan or creative joker.