Since the presentation of the new team of European commissioners by José Manuel Barroso, officials have been busy swapping seats in a round of 'musical chairs' that involves some of the most powerful EU jobs in Brussels.
Background
The new college of commissioners was announced by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso on 27 November 2009.
Ever since, the process of nominating their closest collaborators - their heads of cabinet and the directors-general who lead the Commission's departments - has been underway, with top officials moving between key positions according to internal rules on rotation.
More discrete than the commissioners themselves, these high-ranking officials greatly influence policymaking in Brussels.
The European Parliament's final vote on the incoming Commission took place on 9 February (EURACTIV 09/02/10). The new Commission took office the following day. In this LinksDossier, EURACTIV tries to shed light and offer transparency on the new appointments.
Should you have different information, or should you wish to comment, you may either react publicly on Blogactiv or send us a private message in confidence.
Issues
The college of commissioners is composed of 27 commissioners, one per member state. The distribution of portfolios is decided upon by the president of the European Commission, currently José Manuel Barroso. Depending on the portfolio, each commissioner usually covers one or several directorates-general (DGs) or agencies dealing with specific policy areas or services.
Several organisational issues are actively being negotiated within the Commission. For example, the 'Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion' portfolio covers the DG on Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (EMPL), the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) and the European Agency for Health and Safety at Work (EU-OSHA).
Each DG covers a specific policy area or service and is headed by a director-general who reports to the relevant commissioner. The director-general runs the day-to-day work of the DG and as a rule stays in the shadow of his/her commissioner.
Commissioners are also helped by their 'chefs de cabinet' or heads of cabinet. Like director-generals, heads of cabinet are top officials, who play a leading role in setting their commissioners' policy and operational agendas. They too can wield a major influence in the prioritisation of policies.
Cabinets feature up to seven people, mixing both internally-appointed Commission officials making a swift rise and trusted nationals brought from home by the commissioner.
Deputy heads of cabinet also play an important role, especially when the commissioner is new to Brussels, chooses an official from within the Commission as 'chef de cab' and brings along a fellow national as deputy.
Choosing figures for both jobs - directors-general and 'chefs de cabinet' - is not an easy task. National and political balances need to be respected, and the commissioners are not entirely at liberty to make the choice themselves. National governments, industry and civil society groups, as well as political parties and lobbyists, all try to put in place their candidates.
Now that the new commissioners have taken office, a reshuffle of the top positions of directors-general and deputy directors-general will be necessary, according to the EU executive's own management mobility rules. Directors-general are supposed to rotate into another position after five years (or in exceptional cases, seven), and no director-general should be from the same country as his/her commissioner.
Three rotations already
The Prodi Commission (1999-2004) introduced the principle that "all senior officials serve a minimum of two years in any function and a maximum of five years", extended to seven years in exceptional cases, such as imminent retirements elsewhere.
Three rotations took place among senior Commission staff under Barroso's first mandate (2004-2009), involving directors-general and deputy directors-general or their equivalent. The first of these took place in November 2005, a year after the new commissioners had taken office on 22 November 2004 (EURACTIV 10/11/05). The other two reshuffles occurred in November 2006 and January 2009.
The last reshuffle affected some of the most prized jobs in the Commission hierarchy, including the head of the legal service and the competition and environment directors-general. Most of these changes are expected to be unaffected by the appointment of the new Commission.
Two top 'nationals' never together
Though the Commission tries to prevent particular posts from "belonging" to particular nationalities, the positions of director-general and deputy director-general are jobs in which national governments have traditionally taken a keen interest.
Thus, even if commissioners do not represent their countries, "as a general rule, the commissioner and the director-general responsible for the same directorate-general should not have the same nationality" to counter-balance his or her national influence.
It is not by chance that with French politician Michel Barnier taking on the internal market and services portfolio, his department will be headed by UK national Jonathan Faull, currently director-general of the justice, freedom and security DG. Barnier claimed it was "his initiative" to suggest appointing Faull as his right-hand man in a sign of conciliation towards London, where in some circles the idea of the City being controlled by a Frenchman was offensive (EURACTIV 30/11/09).
Indeed, EU member states often try to "mark their territory," put in place safeguards or influence commissioners' decisions by placing a director-general in critical positions.
Only two director-generals will have to be replaced due to their nationality: current Publications Office Director-General Martine Reicherts and her new commissioner, Viviane Reding, both come from Luxembourg; Fokion Fotiadis, director-general for maritime affairs and fisheries, is Greek – as is her new commissioner, Maria Damanaki.
Few director-generals from 'new' member states
The Commission's policy is "to seek a broad balance in the appointment of senior officials to reflect nationality and management experience," but thus far there has not been a director-general from a 'new' member state.
Jan Truszczynski, a Pole, will be the first top DG official from the 2004 enlargement countries. He is expected to take up his duties as director-general of the education and culture department on 1 May 2010. But this remains one of the least-powerful directorates, reflecting the difficulties new EU member states are having in placing their civil servants in top Brussels positions.
All the director-generals belong to the AD 15 or AD 16 grades, the highest levels in the EU civil service hierarchy. According to data released by the European Commission on 1 March 2010, only ten civil servants from Central and Eastern Europe featured among the 233 AD 15 grade officials (three from Hungary, two from the Czech Republic, two from Poland, one from Estonia, one from Slovenia and one from Slovakia). None were at AD 16 level (Blogactiv 25/09/09).
However, EU institutions will work hard to fill management posts with administrators from new member states by the end of 2010, European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šef?ovi? said 11 March, presenting a major overhaul of the EU's recruitment procedure (EURACTIV 12/03/10).
"We're doing very well on quotas. They have been filled for administrators, and we intend to use this year to make sure we fill our quotas for high-level and management positions to ensure that geographical balance is properly represented," the new Slovak commissioner said.
Table of expected changes among the director-generals
DG |
Outgoing or current director-general* |
Start-End Date |
Possible (or recent) replacement |
Background |
Secretariat-General |
Catherine DAY (Irish) |
Nov. 2005 |
No change expected (unclear whether she is affected by rotation rule) |
|
Legal Service |
Claire-Françoise DURAND (French) |
Dec. 2008-June 2009 |
Luís ROMERO REQUENA (Spanish, 54) |
Director-general of DG Budget (2002-01/06/09) |
Economic and Financial Affairs |
Marco BUTI (Italian) |
Dec. 2008 |
No change expected |
|
Communication (under commissioner for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship) |
Claus SØRENSEN (Danish, 58) |
Jan. 2006 |
Max. 2011-2013 |
|
Enterpriseand Industry |
Heinz ZOUREK (Austrian, 59) |
Nov. 2005 |
Max. 2010-2012 |
|
Competition |
Philip LOWE (British, 62) |
Sept. 2002 |
Alexander ITALIANER (Dutch) |
Deputy Secretary-General, DG Competition (2006-01/11/09) |
Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (previously Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities) |
Nikolaus van der PAS(German, 66) |
June 2006-June 2009 |
Robert VERRUE (French) |
Director-General for Taxation and Customs Union (07/2002-06/2009), Director-General for Education and Culture (2000-2005) |
Agriculture and Rural Development |
Jean-Luc DEMARTY (French) |
2006 |
No change expected |
|
Energy (previously Energy and Transport) |
New DG: Departments in the former Transport and Energy DG dealing with energy issues and the Task Force Energy, which will be transferred from the External Relations DG |
New DG |
Philip LOWE (British, 62) |
Director-general of DG Competition (09/2002-11/2009) |
Mobility and Transport (previously Energy and Transport) |
Alfred Matthias RUETE (German) |
2006 |
Max. 2011-2013 |
|
Environment |
Karl-Friedrich FALKENBERG (German) |
01/01/2009 |
No change expected |
|
Climate action |
New DG: Relevant activities in DG Environment, activities in the External Relations DG related to international negotiations on climate change and activities in the Enterprise and Industry DG related to climate change |
To be established before summer 2010 |
Jos DELBEKE (Belgium) |
Deputy Director-General in Environment DG |
Research, Innovation and Science (previously Research) |
José Manuel SILVA RODRÍGUEZ (Spanish) |
Jan. 2006 |
Max. 2011-2013 |
|
Joint Research Centre |
Roland SCHENKEL (German) |
Nov. 2005 |
Max. 2010-2012 |
|
Digital Agenda (previously Information Society and Media) |
Fabio COLASANTI (Italian, 63) |
Jan. 2005-1 April 2010 (retiring) |
Paul Robert MADELIN (British) |
Director-general of Health and Consumers (2004-2010) |
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries |
Fokion FOTIADIS (Greek) |
2007 |
Same nationality as commissioner |
|
Internal Market and Services |
Jorgen HOLMQUIST (Swedish) |
2007 |
Jonathan FAULL (British) |
Director-general of justice, freedom and security DG (since 2003) |
Regional Policy |
Dirk AHNER (German) |
Jan. 2007 |
No change expected |
|
Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud (previously Taxation and Customs Union) |
Robert VERRUE (French) |
July 2002-01/06/09 |
Walter DEFFAA (German) |
Director-general, Internal Audit Service (2004-01/06/09) |
Education and Culture |
Odile QUINTIN (French, 64) |
01/01/06-01/05/10 |
Jan TRUSZCZYNSKI (Polish, 59) |
Deputy director-general of education and culture DG (2008-01/05/2010) |
Health and Consumer Policy (previously Health and Consumers) |
Paul Robert MADELIN (British) |
2004-04/10 |
Paola TESTORI COGGI (Italian) |
Deputy director-general of health and consumer policy (since 2007) |
Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship (previously Justice, Freedom and Security) |
Jonathan FAULL (British) |
15/03/03 |
FAULL will become director-general of Internal market and Services |
|
External Relations |
Eneko LANDABRU (Spanish, 61) |
2003-01/08/09 |
João VALE DE ALMEIDA(Portuguese, 52) |
Barroso's head of cabinet (since July 2004) |
Trade |
David O'SULLIVAN (Irish, 56) |
Nov. 2005 |
João AGUIAR MACHADO (Portuguese) |
Deputy director-general of DG RELEX (July 2007-July 2009) |
Development |
Stefano MANSERVISI (Italian) |
2004 |
Max. 2011 |
|
Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy (previously Enlargement) |
Michael LEIGH (British) |
2006 |
No change expected |
|
EuropeAid-Cooperation Office |
Koos (Jacobus) RICHELLE (Dutch) |
2004 |
Max. 2011 |
|
International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response (previously Humanitarian Aid) |
Peter ZANGL (German, 63) |
2008 |
No change expected |
|
Eurostat |
Walter RADERMACHER (German, 57) |
04/2008 |
No change expected |
|
Personnel and Administration |
Claude CHENE (French) |
2004-May 2009 |
Irène SOUKA (Greek, 55) |
Deputy director-general, DG Personnel and Administration (June 2008-April 2009) |
Informatics |
Francisco GARCÍA MORÁN (Spanish) |
Nov. 2005 |
Max. 2010-2012 |
|
Financial Programmingand Budget(previously Budget) |
Luís ROMERO REQUENA (Spanish, 54) |
June 2002-01/06/09 |
Hervé JOUANJEAN (French, 59) |
Deputy secretary-general in charge of inter-institutional relations (Jan. 2007-July 2009) |
Internal Audit Service |
Walter DEFFAA (German, 58) |
2004-01/06/09 |
Brian Gray (British) |
Deputy director-general for budget (2003-June 2009) |
European Anti-Fraud Office |
Franz-Hermann BRÜNER (German, 64) |
Feb. 2000-Jan. 2010 (deceased) |
Nicholas ILETT (British, 58) |
Until a permanent appointment is made |
Interpretation |
Marco BENEDETTI (Italian, 59) |
Jan. 2004 |
Max. 2011 |
|
Translation |
Juhani (Karl-Johan) LÖNNROTH (Finnish) |
2004 |
Max. 2011 |
|
Publications Office |
Martine REICHERTS (Luxembourg) |
August 2007 |
Commissioner Reding is also from Luxembourg |
|
Bureau of European Policy Advisers |
March 2007 |
Meglena KUNEVA (Bulgarian, 52), declined offer |
* Name + Nationality + Age (as of 01/01/10)
Choosing 'chefs de cabinet'
Commissioners are also assisted in their daily work by a private office, a 'cabinet' in Commission jargon. According to a December 2009 paper published by Hill & Knowlton, a consultancy, "assembling a cabinet is no easy feat. Hundreds of CVs stream in from the moment the new commissioners are known".
Besides a candidate's experience and knowledge, commissioners need to consider a whole range of other attributes, including a person's political affiliation, gender, language and nationality (West-East and North-South balances).
Nationality also plays a major role, as each cabinet must contain no more than four members of the same nationality as the commissioner. Moreover, the 'chef' and his/her deputy must be of different nationalities, and the spokesperson cannot come from the same country as the commissioner.
'Chefs de cabinet' are expected to fight their commissioner's corner and to defend his or her interests, particularly in the intense lobbying that goes on between different commissioners on more controversial issues. Indeed, according to the 'collegiality principle', commissioners should have an opinion on all decisions, which is only made possible thanks to the advice of competent cabinet members.
As in the previous Commission, about a third of the proposed new 'chefs' come from the UK, France or Germany. Only three women have been put forward as heads of cabinet this time around.
As 14 commissioners, including the president, were already members of the outgoing college, many current heads of cabinet will follow their commissioners to their new posts. According to Hill & Knowlton, of the 27 'chefs', 24 will return from existing cabinet positions and 14 are currently heads.
Several officials are also being promoted, with some spokespeople becoming heads of cabinet. Anecdotally, quite a few of the future 'chefs de cabinet' worked for a time at DG Competition, seen as the most powerful Commission directorate.
Table of expected new 'chefs de cabinet', Deputy heads of cabinets and spokespersons
Commissioner |
'Chef de cabinet' |
Deputy head of cabinet |
Spokesperson |
José Manuel Barroso (President) |
Johannes LAITENBERGER (German), formerly Barroso's spokesman |
Fernando FRUTUOSO DE MELO (Portuguese), formerly director in Secretariat-General |
Koen DOENS (Belgian), formerly Karel De Gucht's head of cabinet |
Joaquin Almunia (Competition; Vice-president) |
Carlos MARTINEZ-MONGAY (Spain), formerly Almunia's head of cabinet at economic and monetary affairs |
Guillaume Loriot (French), formerly head of unit, anti-trust and merger case support at DG COMP |
Amelia Torres (Portuguese), formerly spokeswoman for economic and monetary affairs, former journalist (Reuters, Diario de Noticias) |
László Andor (Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion) |
Anabela GAGO (Portuguese), formerly deputy head of cabinet for Tax and Customs Union Commissioner Kovacs |
Éva TÖRÖK (Hungarian), former attaché at the Hungarian Permanent Representation in Brussels |
Cristina ARIGHO (Irish), formerly budget spokeswoman, former news producer |
Catherine Ashton (EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs; Vice-President) |
James MORRISON (British), formerly Ashton's head of cabinet at DG Trade |
Lutz GÜLLNER (German), formerly Ashton's trade spokesman |
|
Michel Barnier (Internal Market and Services) |
Olivier GUERSENT (French), formerly Head of the European Commission's cartels department in DG Competition, former member of competition commissioner's cabinet |
Kerstin JORNA (German), previously head of cabinet for former Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot, and worked for Barnier when he was regional affairs commissioner |
Chantal HUGHES (British-French), formerly spokeswoman for employment and social affairs |
Dacian Ciolos (Agriculture and Rural Development) |
Georg HÄUSLER (Austria), formerly Head of unit for budget and audit in DG agriculture |
Ionel-Sorin MOISA (Romanian), formerly in Commission's DG Tansport |
Roger WAITE (British), formerly agriculture journalist (Agra Facts & Agra Focus) |
John Dalli (Health and Consumer Policy) |
Joanna DARMANIN (Maltese), formerly Deputy head of cabinet for Malta's Joe Borg, the current fisheries commissioner |
Nils BEHRNDT, formerly in DG enterprise |
Frédéric VINCENT (French), formerly member of Education Commissioner Maros Sefcovic's cabinet and formerly education spokesman |
Maria Damanaki (Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) |
Georgios MARKOPOULIOTIS (Greek), formerly Head of unit for geographical coordination at DG Competition |
Maja KIRCHNER, formerly in Joe Borg's cabinet |
Oliver DREWES (German, Dutch), formerly spokesman for internal market and services |
Karel De Gucht (Trade) |
Marc VANHEUKELEN (Belgian), formerly De Gucht's 'chef de cabinet' at Development and Human aid |
Frank HOFFMEISTER |
John CLANCY (British), formerly overseas development spokesman, former journalist (AP, Euronews) |
Štefan Füle (Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy) |
Simon MORDUE (British), formerly Head of unit at DG Transport and Energy (TREN), previously Verheugen's deputy head of cabinet |
Jana Katarina LOLI? ŠINDELKOVÁ (Czech) |
Angela FILOTE (Romanian), has worked in Commission Representation in Bucharest and Delegation in Cairo |
Johannes Hahn (Regional Policy) |
Hubert GAMBS (Austrian), formerly in cabinet of Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner |
Nicola de MICHELIS (Italian), formerly in DG REGIO |
Ton Van LIEROP (Dutch), formerly enterprise and industry spokesman, former journalist (Dutch news agency ANP) |
Connie Hedegaard (Climate Action) |
Peter VIS (British), formerly Member of Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs' cabinet |
Michael Starbæk CHRISTENSEN (Danish), formerly senior climate advisor in the office of the Danish Prime Minister |
Maria KOKKONEN, formerly working for European Commission representation in France |
Máire Geoghegan-Quinn (Research and Innovation) |
John BELL (Irish), formerly 'Chef de cabinet' for Meglena Kuneva, the Bulgarian consumer affairs commissioner |
Ana ARANA ANTELO, formerly in DG Energy and Transports |
Mark ENGLISH (British), formerly member of spokesperson's service |
Kristalina Georgieva (International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response) |
Jochen RICHTER (German), formerly Deputy head of Multilingualism Commissioner Leonard Orban's cabinet |
Dimitar KYUMYURDZHIEV (Bulgarian), formerly Rumiana Jeleva's head of cabinet in the Foreign Ministry |
Interim: Ferran TARRADELLAS ESPUNY (Spanish), formerly energy spokesman |
Siim Kallas (Transport; Vice-President) |
Hendrik HOLOLEI (Estonian), formerly Deputy director general for enlargement since June 2009 and previously Kallas' head of cabinet |
Kristian SCHMIDT (Danish), remains as deputy head of cabinet for Kallas |
Helen KEARNS (Irish), formerly spokeswoman for consumer affairs, previously worked for former European Parliament President Pat Cox |
Neelie Kroes (Digital Agenda, Vice-President) |
Antony WHELAN (Irish), Kroes' current 'chef de cabinet' |
Lorena BOIX ALONSO (Spanish), remains in same position |
Jonathan TODD (British), formerly competition spokesman, former journalist (Europolitics, Sunday Times) |
Janusz Lewandowski (Budget and Financial Programming) |
Marc LEMAITRE (Luxembourg), Head of cabinet of outgoing Polish Commissioner Samecki |
Patrizio FIORILLI (Belgian), formerly head of press and communication at CEMR and journalist for BBC |
|
Cecilia Malmström (Home Affairs) |
Maria (Mia) ÅSENIUS (Swedish), State secretary to Malmström in her role as Swedish Minister for EU Affairs |
Laurent MUSCHEL (French), formerly deputy head of cabinet to outgoing Justice, Freedom and Security Commissioner Jacques Barrot |
Michele CERCONE (Italian), formerly justice, freedom and security spokesman, former journalist (ANSA) |
Günter Oettinger (Energy) |
Michael KÖHLER (German), formerly Head of cabinet for Commissioner Borg |
Olivier ONIDI (French), formerly in DG Energy and Transport |
Marlene HOLZNER, formerly European Commission spokesperson for development |
Andris Piebalgs (Development) |
Christopher JONES (British), formerly Director of 'New and Renewable Sources of Energy' in DG TREN |
P?teris USTUBS (Latvian), former political director of Latvian Foreign Ministry |
Catherine Ray (French), formerly science and research spokeswoman |
Janez Poto?nik (Environment) |
Kurt VANDENBERGHE (Belgian), formerly Poto?nik's current 'chef de cabinet' |
Matjaž MALGAJ (Slovenian), formerly member of Poto?nik's team |
Joseph HENNON (Irish), formerly spokesperson for institutional relations and communication strategy |
Viviane Reding (Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship; Vice-President) |
Martin SELMAYR (German), formerly Spokesman for Commissioner Reding |
Viviane HOFFMANN (Luxembourg), remains in post already occupied for ten years |
Matthew NEWMAN (French), former journalist (Bloomberg) |
Olli Rehn (Economic and Monetary Affairs) |
Timo PESONEN (Finnish), formerly Special adviser on international affairs for former Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen |
Stéphanie RISO (French), formerly member of Economic Affairs Commissioner Joaquín Almunia's cabinet, responsible for Eurogroup and EMU governance |
Amadeu ALTAFAJ Tardio (Spanish), formerly member of Spokesperson's Service, former journalist (El Mundo, Spanish news agency EFE). |
Maroš Šef?ovi? (Vice-President of the Commission for Inter-Institutional Relations and Administration) |
Juraj NOCIAR (Slovak), formerly Former Deputy Permanent Representative of Slovakia |
Bernd BIEVERT (German), formerly member of Šef?ovi?'s cabinet |
Michel MANN (British), formerly agriculture spokesman, former journalist (Agra Europe, European Voice, Financial Times) |
Algirdas Šemeta (Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud) |
Stephen QUEST (British), formerly Head of cabinet for Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud |
Baudouin BAUDRU (Belgian), formerly in Dalia Grybauskait?'s cabinet |
Emer TRAYNOR (Irish), formerly press officer for taxation, customs union and consumer protection |
Antonio Tajani (Industry and Entrepreneurship; Vice-President) |
Antonio PRETO(Italian), formerlyTajani's 'chef de cabinet' |
Diego CANGA FANO (Spanish), lawyer in Spain before becoming an EU official in 1991 |
Fabio PIROTTA (Maltese), formerly transport spokesman |
Androulla Vassiliou (Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth) |
Philippe BRUNET (French), formerly Vassioliou's 'Chef de cabinet' for Health |
Despina SPANOU (Cypriot), remains as deputy head of cabinet |
Dennis ABBOTT (British), formerly regional policy spokesman, former journalist (The Sun and European Voice) |
Timeline
- 27 Nov. 2009: Announcement of portfolio distribution in the Barroso II college of commissioners (EURACTIV 27/11/09).
- 1 Dec. 2009: Lisbon Treaty enters into force (EURACTIV 01/12/09).
- Dec. 2009: New cabinets informally start working with commissioners-designate.
- 11-19 Jan. 2010: Commissioner hearings in European Parliament.
- 10 Feb. 2010: New Commission takes office.
- Later, possibly in several waves: Rotation of director-generals who have not moved recently.
Further Reading
European Union
- European Commission:The members of the Barroso Commission (2010-2014) [FR] [FR] [DE]
- European Commission:Curricula vitae of the Commission's Directors-General
- European Commission (DG Admin):Distribution of officials and temporary agents by sex, nationality, category and grade (all budgets)(1 March 2009)
- European Commission:Pictures of the Directors-General of the European Commission
- European Commission:New faces in top management posts : Commission reshuffles its Directors General and Deputy Directors General teams(9 November 2005)
- European Commission:Commission adopts mobility package for Directors-General, Directors and Principal Advisers(22 November 2006)
- European Commission:Commission reshuffles senior managers(3 December 2008)
- European Commission: Commission creates two new Directorates-General for Energy and Climate Action (17 February 2010) [FR] [FR] [DE]
- European Commission: Sspokespersons' service (provisional list) (09 March 2010)