The new European Commission

The Irish 'yes' to the Lisbon Treaty in a second referendum in October (EURACTIV 03/10/09) and the subsequent signature of the text by Czech President Václav Klaus (EURACTIV 03/11/09) ended almost a decade of constitutional debate in the European Union.

It culminated on 19 November with the appointment of Herman Van Rompuy as the first permanent EU president and Baroness Catherine Ashton as High Representative for Foreign Affairs (EURACTIV 20/11/09).

Even though the mandate of the current Commission ended on 31 October 2009, it remained in place until the new college had been approved on 9 February 2010 (EURACTIV 09/02/10).

On 27 November, EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso revealed his "new team" - the 27 Commissioner-designates and the portfolios they were expected to be assigned (EURACTIV 27/11/09).

Barroso II

Barroso won unanimous backing from EU heads of state and government at a June 2009 summit for a second five-year mandate at the head of the European Commission (EURACTIV 19/06/09), and on 16 September the European Parliament approved him to steer the European Commission for a second five-year term - not only under the terms of the current Nice Treaty, but also under the tougher criteria of the Lisbon Treaty, which came into force in December 2009.

Two 'new top jobs'

The Treaty of Lisbon introduces the new 'top jobs' of a high-profile president to chair EU summit meetings for a two-and-a-half year term and a High Representative for Foreign Affairs, who will also be a vice-president of the European Commission (see EURACTIV LinksDossier on 'Choosing Mr(s). Europe').

Public opinion and the European press have been widely critical of the appointment of Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton to the EU's new top positions, with Germany in particular feeling it had been tricked into accepting a bad deal (EURACTIV 23/11/09).

The appointments highlighted the European Union's reluctance to choose a high-profile president who can see eye-to-eye with other world leaders. Van Rompuy will be more of a "chairman" than a leader, according to Thierry Chopin, director of the Robert Schuman Foundation think-tank, in an interview with EURACTIV France (EURACTIV 23/11/09).

All this will have an impact on the functioning and portfolio allocation of the new Barroso Commission.

Three 'new' commissioner portfolios

Presenting his plans for the new Commission, Barroso confirmed that he envisages a commissioner responsible for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship. This is no surprise, as Liberal (ALDE) leader Guy Verhofstadt made his group's support for Barroso conditional on the creation of such a post (EURACTIV 15/07/09).

The Commissioner-designate for this new job is Luxembourg's outgoing Commissioner Viviane Reding.

Barroso also created a commissioner for Home Affairs (internal affairs and migration), and another one for "climate action". Until now, the Commission has had portfolios for environment and energy, but not a specific post for climate affairs. He also said he planned to create the new post of chief scientific advisor (EURACTIV 25/09/09).

Nine women on board

Nine women have been designated members of the next EU executive, matching the number of the outgoing college (EURACTIV 25/11/09).

EU leaders seem to have listened to President Barroso. In a letter to EU heads of state and government, Barroso stressed the importance of gender balance in his new college of commissioners. "To allow me to propose a properly balanced team […] I urge you to see gender balance as a common goal and a shared responsibility," he said last month, calling on leaders to "pay particular attention to the presence of women in the college as our discussions continue towards conclusion" (EURACTIV 22/10/09).

Indded, alongside nationality, geography (North-South, East-West), the size of the country and political affiliation, gender can also be seen as a criterion when European leaders horse-trade over top EU jobs. According to the Commission's roadmap for equality between women and men, "women continue to be under-represented in political and economic decision-making".

Currently, only two of the 27 EU heads of state and government are women: Angela Merkel in Germany and Dalia Grybauskaite in Lithuania. The Commission has never had a female president, while just two of 13 European Parliament presidents have been female since direct elections were introduced in 1979. These were both Frenchwomen, Simone Veil (1979-1982) and Nicole Fontaine (1999-2002).

Returning to national service

In January, EURACTIV broke the story that the next European Commission may feature as many as twenty new faces (EURACTIV 28/01/09), with most of its current members expected to leave the EU executive on their own initiative or as a result of changing national political contexts. In the end, thirteen commissioners will stay in office according to the list of 'commissioners-designate for the next Commission' published on 25 November 2009, three of them having been members of the 2004-2009 Commission for less than six months (see table below).

It is relatively common for commissioners to leave their positions during or at the end of their mandates in order to take national office, usually in government. High-profile 'defectors' in 2008 included Peter Mandelson (EURACTIV 06/10/08) and Franco Frattini (EURACTIV 10/03/08).

Critics often argue that this weakens the Commission, both in terms of its administrative continuity and general public perception. Indeed, earlier this year, Dalia Grybauskait?, at the time the EU's commissioner for budget and financial planning, left Brussels to successfully run for the Lithuanian presidency (EURACTIV 18/05/09).

Of particular interest this year, however, was the fact that a number of commissioners put themselves forward for June's EU elections as high-profile names on their national party lists. According to EU rules, if commissioners choose to return to their home countries to engage in active campaigning, they must leave their positions. However, if they simply attach their name to a party list, they are not required to step down.

As a result, a commissioner could in theory head an electoral list in their member state and win many votes due to his/her high profile, then decide to not take up their seat in the European Parliament, thus passing their seat to the next person on the list and all the while continuing to work for the EU executive. Indeed, this is precisely what happened when Commissioners Meglena Kuneva, Louis Michel, Danuta Hübner and Viviane Reding topped polls in Bulgaria, Belgium, Poland and Luxembourg respectively. Only Hübner and Michel decided to enter the new Parliament.

Commissioners' hearings: Jeleva failed

All commissioners-designate had to undergo a three-hour Q&A session with MEPs from the parliamentary committee(s) responsible for the portfolio concerned.

Bulgarian Commissioner-designate Rumiana Jeleva (International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response) flopped at her hearing in the development committee, failing to counter accusations of conflict of interest and giving disappointing answers on policy issues (EURACTIV 13/01/10). She resigned on 19 January (EURACTIV 20/01/10).

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov then appointed Kristalina Georgieva as commissioner-designate to replace Jeleva (EURACTIV 21/01/10).

Georgieva was attributed the same portfolio as Jeleva (International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response) (EURACTIV 22/01/10). She passed her 3 February hearing in the European Parliament (EURACTIV 04/02/10).

Table of commissioners:

• 4-7 June 2009: Centre-right wins European Parliament elections, the first step to Barroso's reappointment (EURACTIV 08/06/09). 
• 1 July 2009: Sweden assumes the rotating EU presidency, with contingency plans for both Lisbon and Nice scenarios for new European Commission. Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt strongly supports Barroso's reappointment. 
• 16 Sept. 2009: José Manuel Barroso reappointed as Commission president (EURACTIV 16/09/09).
• 2 Oct. 2009: Irish approve Lisbon Treaty in second referendum (EURACTIV 3/10/09).
• 19 Nov. 2009: Extraordinary EU summit chooses Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as first permanent EU president and current Trade Commissioner Baroness Catherine Ashton as High Representative for Foreign Affairs (EURACTIV 20/11/09).
• 27 Nov. 2009: Announcement of the new portfolio attributions in new college of commissioners (EURACTIV 27/11/09).
• 1 Dec. 2009: Entry into force of Lisbon Treaty.
• 11-19 Jan. 2010: Commissioner hearings in European Parliament.
• 12 Jan. 2010: Bulgarian commissioner-designate Rumiana Jeleva flops at her hearing (EURACTIV 13/01/10).
• 19 Jan. 2010: Jeleva resigns (EURACTIV 20/01/10).
• 3 Feb. 2010: Bulgarian commissioner-designate Kristalina Georgieva’s hearing in European Parliament (EURACTIV 04/02/10).
• 9 Feb. 2010: Final vote in European Parliament on full Commission (EURACTIV 09/02/10).
• 10 Feb. 2010: New Commission took office.

European Union

• European Commission:Treaty of Lisbon [FR] [FR] [DE]
• European Commission:The members of the Barroso Commission (2004-2009) [FR] [FR] [DE]
• European Commission:President Barroso unveils his new team [FR] [FR] [DE]
• European Commission:Commissioners designate for the next Commission
• European Commission:President Barroso unveils his new team [FR] [FR] [DE]
• European Commission:CVs with pictures of the 26 Commissioners-designate
• European Commission:José Manuel Durão Barroso President of the European Commission President Barroso announces the New Commission Press conference in the Berlaymont Brussels(27/11/09)
• European Parliament:Hearings of Commissioner designates [FR] [FR] [DE]

NGOs and Think-Tanks

• Bruegel:Bruegel Report - Memo to the new commissioners
• Burson-Marsteller:Lisbon Treaty implementation and nominations: the next steps(12 November 2009)
• Fleishman Hillard:The Barroso II Commission: Analysis and insights on the new College

Press articles

• EURACTIV France:La nouvelle Commission européenne commence à prendre forme
• The Wall Street Journal:Swedish PM Names Min Malmstrom As EU Commissioner Candidate
• Stockholm News:Malmström Sweden’s new EU commissioner
• Spiegel Online:EU Perplexed by Germany's Choice of Oettinger as Commissioner
• Euronews:Germany’s surprise EU Commissioner
• The Wall Street Journal:France Sarkozy: France Wants Barnier As EU Commissioner
• Kathimerini:Athens to send a woman to succeed Dimas in Brussels
• ANA:PM: EU summit outcome 'great success'
• Polskie Radio:Lewandowski for budget Commission
• Newsweek.pl:Premier ma nadziej?, ?e Lewandowski zostanie komisarzem
• Gazeta Wyborcza:Lewandowski do komisji, Koz?owski do Brukseli
• Ireland On-Line:Geoghegan-Quinn nominated as next EU Commissioner
• Irish Times:Taoiseach nominates Geoghegan Quinn for Europe
• Irish Times:Nominee said yes straight away to Taoiseach
• Times of Malta:Dalli meets Barroso in Brussels
• Times of Malta:Gonzi explains decision to nominate Dalli to EU post - No major Cabinet changes expected
• The Malta Independent online:Dalli gets the nod
• The Irish Times:Pressure on Barroso to deliver high profile posts
• Reuters:Who will be in the new EU Commission?
• BBC:Barroso gets new EU Commission team
• The Financial Times:Barroso must resist national bullying
• Telegraph.co.uk:France runs into trouble in wrangle for Brussels jobs

Blogs

• Blogactiv (Stanley's blog):A new Barroso?
• Blogactiv:Barroso II - Winners and Losers
• Blogactiv:EU Commissioners’ golden parachutes
• Blogactiv:Une nouvelle Commission européenne se met en place. Un seul mot d’ordre: sortir de la Crise
• Blogactiv:Une présidence inaugurale
• Blogactiv:Une nouvelle Commission européenne se met en place. Pour quoi faire ? Au bout du compte ne serait-elle pas avec son président, José Manuel Barroso, la véritable gagnante de ces derniers mois ?
• Blogactiv:EU foreign policy in relation to EC selections
• Blogactiv:An Unlawful Commission
• Reuters:A camel for EU president?
• Blogactiv:Füle Chosen as Czech Commissioner
• Blogactiv:Hungary Names Probably Oddest Commissioner
• Blogactiv:Nobody wants the education portfolio?
• Blogactiv:The EU needs an effective Foreign Service Lisbon Treaty should upgrade EU foreign Policy
• Blogactiv:What Europe is really seeking
• Blogactiv:Van Rompuy: The Consensual Guy!

Other

• Weber Shandwick:European Commission tracker