Oettinger, of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Christian Democratic Union, last week performed impressively when EU lawmakers grilled him about his policy plans as commissioner. The governor of Baden-Wuerttemberg, an economically powerful state in western Germany, answered technical questions, laid out a wide-ranging energy strategy and surprised lawmakers with several bold statements.

Reinhard Buetikofer from the Green Party pressed Oettinger on whether he would enforce binding conditions for member states if it became obvious that the EU would not reach the target of generating 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.

Oettinger replied that he was prepared to enforce those targets in two years "if not enough is achieved voluntarily or through market forces."

Countering speculations that he would favor big business, he even called for a Europeanization of energy deals: Bilateral contracts between an EU member and a third country -- for example between Germany and Russia -- should be replaced by a European contract to guarantee solidarity across the 27-member bloc.

Oettinger's nomination had surprised many in Brussels: The man has no experience in European politics and was not considered an energy expert.

"What's all this about?" Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso at the time reportedly asked angrily.

Not that Oettinger is no able politician. His home state is prospering, and many had foreseen a career that would go beyond regional politics. It's just that no one thought him fit for the EU. The German press even speculated that Merkel tried to get rid of a potential rival by sending him to Brussels.

According to German newspaper Die Welt, Oettinger has since read around 1,000 pages worth of material to acquire the hard facts influencing Europe's energy policy.

Lawmakers during the questioning were nevertheless pessimistic. They knew about his close ties with the bosses of Eon and RWE, Germany's largest utilities, and his support for the nuclear industry. As a state premier, Oettinger lobbied for holding on to nuclear power at a time when the federal government planned to phase it out.

Last week, the designated commissioner vowed that he would be a "moderator, and not an ambassador for nuclear power." He called for a broad energy mix and said that member states could decide individually whether to keep nuclear energy.

Nuclear safety standards must be "the highest," he said, adding that they are to be determined by the latest science, even if that would lead "to extra costs or problems for the operators."

MEPs rated Oettinger's performance with "very good," boosting his chances of taking office next month.

"Oettinger showed real commitment in his speech in the European Parliament. Action must now follow his green words," Claude Turmes of the Green Party said in a statement. "The Greens will be keeping close watch to see if his political actions are consistent with the statements he made."

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