2014年经济学人 欧盟委员会 处在正确位置的朋友

The European Commission

Friends in the right places

The British are down, the Germans and east Europeans are up

“I AM French, I am deeply French, but here I will stand as a European commissioner¹.” Thus Pierre Moscovici, a French former finance minister, when seeking the European Parliament's approval as economics and finance commissioner this autumn. Commission officials similarly plead European ambitions over national interests. But home ties are hard to break, so governments are keen to place their own in key posts.

New members have made their mark in recent years (see left-hand chart). Italy's representation has plummeted² from almost 25% of the total in the 1980s. As host country, Belgium still does well. But the most striking recent trend has been the rise of Poland and Romania. In 2011 Poland slipped ahead of Britain, which now accounts for just 4.5% of the commission's total staff.

The old guard clings on at the top, however. At the end of 2013, of the 128 most senior positions, Germany held 20, Britain 13 and France 11. German influence in commissioners³' private offices (cabinets) has risen in the new commission led by Luxembourg's Jean-Claude Juncker (whose chef de cabinet is German). Germany is also seen as dominant⁴ in the European Parliament.

What about the future? Intriguingly⁵, for junior administrative⁶ grades, the top two countries are now Poland and Romania. France is struggling to keep up—its influence in Brussels is declining. Britain does even worse at junior than at senior level, with a share of below 3% (see right-hand chart). As one senior official says, the commission can attract the brightest and best from newer members, but struggles to do so from Britain.

One problem is Britons' poor foreign-language skills (job applicants⁷ must speak at least two). This is aggravated⁸, ironically, by today's preponderance of English in the work of EU institutions. The risk of a British exit after a referendum also makes the commission a shaky career choice. Young Britons are drawn⁹ to China or America instead. The British government's attempt to do better is not working, either: since it relaunched its “EU fast stream” process with much fanfare¹⁰ in 2010, not a single candidate has gone on to join the commission.

1 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

2 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

4 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

5 intriguingly   

参考例句：

• Intriguingly, she gave to the music a developed although oddly malleable personality. 最神奇的是，她的音乐具有成熟却又很奇怪地极富可塑性。 来自互联网
• Intriguingly, the patients brains were riddled with tangles, but not amyloid plaques. 有趣的是，患者的大脑中充满了各缠结，但并没有粉斑。 来自互联网

6 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

7 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

8 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

9 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

10 fanfare   

n.喇叭；号角之声；v.热闹地宣布

参考例句：

• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide.这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King.嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。