European commissioner

AEuropean commissioneris a member of the 27-memberEuropean Commission.Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by thepresident of the European Commission.In simple terms they are the equivalent ofgovernment ministers.

Appointment

Commissioners are nominated by member states in consultation with the commission president, who then selects a team of commissioners. This team of nominees are then subject to hearings at theEuropean Parliament,which questions them and then votes on their suitability as a whole. If members of the team are found to be inappropriate, the president must then reshuffle the team or request a new candidate from the member state or risk the whole commission being voted down.As parliament cannot vote against individual commissioners there is usually a compromise whereby the worst candidates are removed but minor objections are put aside, or dealt with by adjusting portfolios, so the commission can take office. Once the team is approved by the parliament, it is formally put into office by theEuropean Council(TEU Article 17:7).

Although members of the commission are allocated between member states, they do not represent their states. Instead, they are supposed to act in European interests. Normally, a member state will nominate someone of the same political party as that which forms the current government. There are exceptions, such as Member of the CommissionRichard Burke(ofFine Gael), who was nominated byTaoiseachCharles Haughey(ofFianna Fáil). In the past, when the larger states had two seats, they often went to the two major parties, such as in the United Kingdom.

Twelve of the current 27 members are women.Peter Mandelson(2004 to October 2008)was the first openlygaycommissioner. The first female commissioners wereChristiane ScrivenerandVasso Papandreouin the 1989Delors Commission.

European Parliament PresidentJerzy Buzekproposed in 2010 that commissioners be directly elected, by member states placing their candidate at the top of their voting lists inEuropean elections.That would give them individually, and the body as a whole, a democratic mandate.

Oath

Each member is required to take an oath before theCourt of Justice of the European Union,officially theSolemn Declaration before the Court of Justice of the European Union.As of December 2009, theCharter of Fundamental Rightshas gained legal force andJustice CommissionerViviane Redinghas proposed that commissioners should swear to uphold it also. The secondBarroso Commissionwent to the Court of Justice on 3 May 2010 for the first such oath alongside their usual oath.The oath taken by the members of the Barroso Commission was:

Having been appointed as a Member of the European Commission by the European Council, following the vote of consent by the European Parliament I solemnly undertake: to respect the Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in the fulfilment of all my duties; to be completely independent in carrying out my responsibilities, in the general interest of the Union; in the performance of my tasks, neither to seek nor to take instructions from any Government or from any other institution, body, office or entity; to refrain from any action incompatible with my duties or the performance of my tasks. I formally note the undertaking of each Member State to respect this principle and not to seek to influence Members of the Commission in the performance of their tasks. I further undertake to respect, both during and after my term of office, the obligation arising therefrom, and in particular the duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance, after I have ceased to hold office, of certain appointments or benefits.

History

Until 2004, the larger member states (Spain upwards) received two commissioners and the smaller states received one. As the size of the body was increasing with enlargement, the larger states lost their second commissioner after the2004 enlargementwith the newBarroso Commissionbeing appointed under theTreaty of Nice.

Nice also specified that once the number of members reached 27 then the number of commissioners should be reduced to "less than the number of Member States". The exact number of commissioners would have to be decided by a unanimous vote of theEuropean Counciland membership will rotate equally between member states. Following theaccession of Romania and Bulgariain January 2007, this clause took effect for the following commission (appointed after the2009 European elections).

The failedEuropean Constitutionfirst mandated that the number of commissioners should equal two-thirds of the member states. This could be changed by a vote in the European Council, in case the number was still too high in the future. The constitution failed ratification but this change was brought in with theTreaty of Lisbon.However, as Lisbon was being ratified the Irish electorate voted against it with one reason being the fear of losing a commissioner. The Irish then voted again, in favour for the treaty on a number of conditions; one being that they kept their commissioner.

In 2009, in what was known as the 26+1 formula, it was proposed that (in order to comply with the Nice Treaty provision that there should be fewer commissioners than members) instead of a commissioner one member state should fill the post of high representative.An idea floated in 2007 was the creation of junior members for smaller states.In 2004, there was a proposal to create a "super-commissioner" who would be vice president of the Commission and would "be able to intervene in all decisions concerning EU projects that have an impact" on the economic performance of the EU.

Another change Lisbon brought, as hinted above, was the creation of the role ofHigh Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policyby merging the post ofEuropean Commissioner for External Relationswith the council'sHigh Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy.The new more powerful high representative becameex-officioVice-President of the Commissionand would chair theCouncil of the European Unionwhen foreign ministers were meeting.

Accountability

In addition to its role in approving a new Commission, the European Parliament has the power at any time to force the entire Commission to resign through avote of no confidence.This requires a vote that makes up at least two-thirds of those voting and a majority of the total membership of the Parliament. While it has never used this power, it threatened to use it against the Commission headed byJacques Santerin 1999 over allegations of corruption. In response, theSanter Commissionresigneden masseof its own accord, the only time a Commission has done so.

Salaries

A commissioner's basic monthly salary is fixed at 112.5% of the topcivil servicegrade.As of June 2023, this works out to be €25,910.19 per month.The president is paid at 138% (€27,436.90 per month), vice-presidents at 125% (€24,852.26 per month)and the High Representative at 130% (€25,846.35 per month).There are further allowances on top of these figures, including household allowance, child allowance, and a substantial expatriation allowance (where applicable).

Portfolios

Main article:List of European Commission portfolios

For current office holders, seeVon der Leyen Commission.

The make up and distribution of portfolios are determined by the Commission president and do not always correspond with the commission'sdepartments(directorates-general). While some have been fairly consistent in make up between each Commission, some have only just been created or are paired with others. With a record number of members in 2007, the portfolios have become very thin even though the responsibilities of the commission have increased.

Civil service

A commissioner can come under a great deal of influence from the staff under their control. TheEuropean Civil Serviceis permanent whereas a commissioner is in office usually for just five years. Hence it is the service which know the workings of the commission and have longer term interests. Strong leadership from a commissioner, who knows the workings of their portfolio, can overcome the power of the service. An example would bePascal Lamy;however, the best people are usually kept by their national governments, leading to less solid candidates getting the job.

Politicisation

Margot Wallströmhas said that the EU has to get more political and controversial.

Commissioners are required to remain above national politics while exercising their duties in the Commission,but are normally involved in their European-level political party. However the requirement to keep out of national politics has slowly been eroded.During theProdi Commission,Anna Diamantopoulou(Employment and Social Affairs) took leave from the commission to participate in the2004 Greek electionsand resigned when she won a seat despite her party losing.Romano Prodicampaigned in the2001 Italian electionswhile still president.

Louis Michel(Development & Humanitarian Aid) announced that he would go on unpaid leave to take part in the2007 Belgian elections.Although he positioned himself so as not to be elected, theEuropean Parliament's development committeeasked theParliament's legal serviceto assess if his participation violated thetreaties.Michel claimed that politicisation of this manner is part of reconnecting the Union with its citizens. The Commission revised its code of conduct for commissioners allowing them to "be active members of political parties or trade unions". To participate in an election campaign they are required to "withdraw from the work of the Commission for the duration of the campaign".

This does throw their independence in doubt, where a politician leaves their national scene for one or two terms and returns to it for a new job.Most in essence owe their positions to nomination and support from national party leaders and parties they have been aligned to; usually seeking to return to the party-political fray.

Politicisation has even gone so far as commissioners backing national candidates, withNeelie Kroes(Competition) backingAngela Merkelin the2005 German electionsandMargot Wallström(Institutional Relations & Communication Strategy) backingSégolène Royalin the2007 French elections.Wallström defended this claiming that the EU has to get more political and controversial as being a vital role in communicating the commission.Wallström has been notable for engaging in debate and politics, she was the first commissioner to starther own blogArchived15 October 2009 at theWayback Machine.

However their political nature can also cause problems in their habit of leaving the job early in the final years of the commission to take up new national posts. In seeking to secure their post-Commission job, they can undermine the work of the commission.Following elections in Cyprus, Commissioner Kyprianou left to become Cypriot Foreign Minister.Likewise, Commissioner Frattini left to do the same following elections in Italy.During the previousProdi Commission,Pedro Solbesleft to become the Spanish finance minister,Michel Barnierleft to become French foreign minister,Erkki Liikanenleft to become head of Bank of Finland andAnna Diamantopouloualso resigned early. Even President Prodi started campaigning in the Italian elections before his term as head of the commission was over.

Appointment to the commission has the effect of removing a political figure from a country for a period of years, and this has been compared to theancient Athenianpractice ofostracism.

Thierry Bretonresigned as European Commissioner on 16 September 2024, accusing Ursula von der Leyen of undermining him and disrupting the EU’s power transition.

See also

• List of European Commissioners by nationality
• Vice-President of the European Commission

External links

• Commission's websiteec.europa.eu
• Commissioners code of conductec.europa.eu