The European Parliament's challenge to the European Commission was thrown into chaos yesterday when the Socialist group leader, Mrs Pauline Green, reversed her earlier defence of the commission and said her group would vote to sack the entire commission if other MEPs tried to target individual commissioners.
Six European commissioners have been challenged to follow "British tradition" and resign voluntarily amid growing allegations of wholesale fraud and mismanagement of EU funds.
The U-turn, the day after Britain's Labour MEPs were instructed to vote against censuring the commission, followed the discovery of a parliamentary ploy which convinced the liberal and conservative blocks that they might be able to force the resignation of individual commissioners.
The ploy, devised by Mr Pat Cox, the leader of the Liberal group, begins with an oral question to the Commission President, Mr Jacques Santer. Whatever his answer, this will let MEPs propose a resolution calling for the resignations of the Education Commissioner, Ms Edith Cresson, and the Spanish Vice-President of the Commission, Mr Manuel Marin.
The conservative bloc also want four more commissioners to resign but they are unlikely to get cross-party support.
If Mr Santer fails to act on the resolution, which seemed yesterday to be assured of a comfortable majority in the parliament, the liberals and conservatives believe they can then rally the two-thirds majority needed for a full vote of censure.
Under this pressure, Mr Cox said: "I think the pressure on Ms Cresson and Mr Marin would be overwhelming."
It was the probable success of this ploy which persuaded Mrs Green that the socialists should switch their position. She faces two problems. The first, as she admitted yesterday, is that she cannot deliver all the 210 members of the socialist bloc. Her second problem is that the commission keeps shooting itself in the foot. Mr Santer's declaration that he and the commission would stay in office even if a majority of MEPs voted for censure has outraged parliament.
The British, German and French governments are becoming alarmed at the way the situation in Brussels has got out of hand.
The commission's suspended whistle-blower, Mr Paul van Buitenen, deeply impressed leading MEPs on a tour of parliament yesterday.
Yesterday the Belgian courts said they wanted to interview Mr Van Buitenen about his claim that a police inquiry into fraud had been deliberately misled by the commission's holding back incriminating documents.