After greeting the journalists, he reads out eight lines from a sheet of paper, declaring the resignation of the entire commission on charges of mismanagement and corruption. Then, he gets up and leaves the room.
History can be dramatic.
The allegations of mismanagement and corruption in the EC apparatus that were outlined in a 144-page report by one Swedish accountant and four judges from Spain, France, the Netherlands and Belgium, were highly damaging and left the commissioners with no leeway. But whether the hapless EC president Jacques Santer and his colleagues really are the culprits, or merely the scapegoats of a political manoeuvre, is now a matter of heated discussion all over Europe. If anything, the problem of the European Commission is a structural one. Most commentators agree that both the European parliament and the 15 member states are to blame for overburdening the apparatus with ever more responsibilities, while withholding funding and legislative support. Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain can each nominate two.