Tag: Commissioners

EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger is under fire as public prosecutors in Stuttgart examine whether he lied in his declaration of interests about side activities. Oettinger is the only commissioner to have changed his declaration – and he has been forced to do so twice. EurActiv Germany reports.

At least twelve Polish nationals will feature among the staff of new commissioners and the office of new EU President Herman Van Rompuy, the Polish press reported yesterday (9 February).

The selection of a new European Commission, never the simplest of political tasks, has this year been more complex than ever. Politically and institutionally, 2009 came with a whole range of permutations regarding the 'how?', 'when?' and 'who?' of the next EU executive.

"The standing of the [European] Commission vis-à-vis the other institutions has fallen during the last five years. It is vital for the European Union that this trend be reversed," writes Stanley Crossick, founder of the European Policy Centre, in a July post on Blogactiv.

The next European Commission may feature as many as twenty new faces this autumn, as most of its current members are expected to leave the EU executive on their own initiative or as a result of changing national political contexts.

Following the Parliament’s rejection of Rocco Buttiglione at the 2004-hearings, the new candidates of Bulgaria and Romania will be eager to perform well in the upcoming hearings.

The Parliament's legal service is currently examining a 'letter of explanation' from Jacques Barrot on his amnesty related to corruption charges in 2000.