Juncker Commission

Juncker Commission

6th Commission of the European Union
Date formed1 November 2014 (2014-11-01)
Date dissolved30 November 2019 (2019-11-30)
People and organisations
President of the CommissionPresident
Jean-Claude Juncker
Vice-President(s) of the CommissionFirst Vice President
Frans Timmermans
No. of commissioners26
Commissioners removed
(Death/resignation/dismissal)		4
Total no. of commissioners30
Member parties
  •   EPP (14)
  •   PES (7)
  •   ALDE (4)
  •   None (1)
History
Election(s)2014 European Parliament election
PredecessorBarroso Commission
Successorvon der Leyen Commission
Jean-Claude Juncker delivering a speech at the election congress of the EPP in March 2014

The Juncker Commission was the European Commission in office from 1 November 2014 to 30 November 2019. Its president was Jean-Claude Juncker, who presided over 27 other commissioners (one from each of the states composing the European Union, except Luxembourg, which is Juncker's state). In July 2014, Juncker was officially elected to succeed José Manuel Barroso, who completed his second five-year term in that year.

Election

See also: European Commission § Appointment, and Jean-Claude Juncker § Commission presidency
Juncker's campaign bus used for the 2014 European Parliament election

In the 2014 parliamentary election, Juncker campaigned as the candidate of the European People's Party (EPP) for the presidency of the European Commission.[1] The EPP won a plurality in parliament, and on 27 June, the European Council nominated him for the post. Later on 15 July 2014, the European Parliament elected Juncker as the new Commission president.[2][3][4] On 22 October, the European Parliament approved the Juncker Commission in its entirety and during the 23–24 October 2014 meeting of the European Council the Council formally appointed the new Commission.[5][6] On 1 November 2014, the new Commission officially assumed office.[7][8] Juncker has outlined a ten-point agenda for his Presidency focusing on jobs and growth.[9]

Policy

Under the Juncker Commission, the EU General Data Protection Regulation was passed. The Commission co-developed the law, culminating in a trilogue proposal between the Commission, Parliament, and Council on 15 December 2015. The GDPR entered into force on 24 May 2016.[10]

The Commission abolished retail telephone and mobile data roaming charges in the member states and some others (Roam Like At Home).[11]

Institutional reorganisation

Juncker made the Commission's work more top-down by strengthening the Secretariat-General in two ways. Firstly, he gave it a gatekeeper function regarding new initiatives. All "major initiatives" must henceforth be approved by the "relevant Vice-President(s) and the First Vice-President, unless they are initiated directly by the President". Secondly, the SG was made chair of all inter-service steering groups (ISGs) dealing with priority initiatives in the Commission's work programme.[12]:9-10 [13]:8-9

Juncker also abolished the position of Commissioner for Climate Action, merging it with the energy portfolio, to improve cooperation between staff in the Directorate-General (DG) Energy and the former DG Climate Action.[13]:10

Commissioners

The following college of commissioners serves under Juncker's presidency:[14][15][16]

Parties

  European People's Party (14)   Party of European Socialists (7)   Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (4)   None (1)

Juncker Commission
Confirmation by the European Parliament on October 22, 2014 • Appointment by the European Council on October 23, 2014
Portfolio Designee Portfolio Designee Portfolio Designee
President
–
Nomination June 27, 2014
Elected July 15, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former Prime Minister
Jean-Claude Juncker
of Luxembourg Luxembourg

(EPP–CSV)

First Vice-President
Better Regulation, Inter-Institutional Relations, Rule of Law and Charter of Fundamental Rights
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs
Frans Timmermans
of the Netherlands Netherlands

(PES–PvdA)

Vice-President
and

High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014


Former Minister of Foreign Affairs
Federica Mogherini
of Italy Italy

(PES–PD)

Vice-President
Energy Union
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former European Commissioner
Maroš Šefčovič
of Slovakia Slovakia

(PES–Smer-SD)

Vice-President
Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former Prime Minister
Jyrki Katainen
of Finland Finland

(EPP–KOK)

Vice-President
Euro and Social Dialogue and Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former Prime Minister
Valdis Dombrovskis
of Latvia Latvia

(EPP–Unity)

European Commissioner
Justice and Consumers
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former Minister of Development
Věra Jourová
of Czech Republic Czech Republic

(ALDE–ANO)

European Commissioner
Digital Economy and Society
–
Announced May 10, 2017
Took office July 7, 2017
Former MEP
Mariya Gabriel
of Bulgaria Bulgaria

(EPP–GERB)

European Commissioner
Budget and Human Resources
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former Minister President
Günther Oettinger
of Germany Germany

(EPP–CDU)

European Commissioner
Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former Minister of Finance
Pierre Moscovici
of France France

(PES–PS)

European Commissioner
Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former MEP
Marianne Thyssen
of Belgium Belgium

(EPP–CD&V)

European Commissioner
European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former European Commissioner
Johannes Hahn
of Austria Austria

(EPP–ÖVP)

European Commissioner
Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs
Dimitris Avramopoulos
of Greece Greece

(EPP–ND)

European Commissioner
Health and Food Safety
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014

Former Minister of Health
Vytenis Andriukaitis
of Lithuania Lithuania (PES–SDP)

European Commissioner
Security Union
–
Confirmation September 15, 2016
Took office September 19, 2016
Former Ambassador
Julian King
of United Kingdom United Kingdom

(None)

European Commissioner
Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former Deputy Prime Minister
Elżbieta Bieńkowska
of Poland Poland

(EPP–PO)

European Commissioner
Climate Action and Energy
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former Minister of Agriculture
Miguel Arias Cañete
of Spain Spain

(EPP–PP)

European Commissioner
International Cooperation and Development
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former Deputy Prime Minister
Neven Mimica
of Croatia Croatia

(PES–SDP)

European Commissioner
Competition
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former Deputy Prime Minister
Margrethe Vestager
of Denmark Denmark

(ALDE–RV)

European Commissioner
Transport
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former Deputy Prime Minister
Violeta Bulc
of Slovenia Slovenia

(ALDE–SMC)

European Commissioner
Trade
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former Minister of EU Affairs
Cecilia Malmström
of Sweden Sweden

(ALDE–L)

European Commissioner
Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former Minister of Tourism
Karmenu Vella
of Malta Malta

(PES–PL)

European Commissioner
Education, Culture, Youth and Sport
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former Deputy Prime Minister
Tibor Navracsics
of Hungary Hungary

(EPP–Fidesz)

European Commissioner
Research, Science and Innovation
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former Under-Secretary of State
Carlos Moedas
of Portugal Portugal

(EPP–PSD)

European Commissioner
Agriculture and Rural Development
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former Minister of Environment
Phil Hogan
of Republic of Ireland Ireland

(EPP–FG)

European Commissioner
Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management
–
Confirmation October 22, 2014
Took office November 1, 2014
Former MEP
Christos Stylianides
of Cyprus Cyprus

(EPP–DISY)

Former members

Nominee Portrait Portfolio State Party
Andrus Ansip[17] Digital Single Market (Vice President) Estonia Estonia ALDE
National: ERP
Corina Crețu[18] Regional Policy Romania Romania PES (Before 2019)
National: PSD (Before 2019)
EDP (2019)
National: PRO (2019)
Jonathan Hill[19] Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union United Kingdom United Kingdom AECR
National: Conservative
Kristalina Georgieva[20] Budget and Human Resources (Vice President) Bulgaria Bulgaria EPP
National: GERB

President's cabinet

The President's cabinet supports the President of the commission, and thus has a very central role in coordinating the work of the European Commission as a whole. The president's cabinet is led by Clara Martinez Alberola. Formerly, it was led by Martin Selmayr, who has been described as "the most powerful EU chief of staff ever."[21]

Project teams

Juncker has for the first time proposed a commission that clusters certain members together under designated policy areas. These clusters are known as "Project Teams" and will each be headed by one of the vice presidents.[22] Each team is composed of a core membership in addition to members who may fall under its respective umbrella as needed.[23] Timmermans and Georgieva both oversee all commissioners while the remaining five project teams are as follows:

A Connected Digital Single Market

Vice President: Andrus Ansip (Digital Single Market)
Elżbieta Bieńkowska (Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs)
Corina Crețu (Regional Policy)
Phil Hogan (Agriculture and Rural Development)
Věra Jourová (Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality)
Pierre Moscovici (Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs)
Günther Oettinger (Digital Economy and Society)
Marianne Thyssen (Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility)
Vytenis Andriukaitis (Health and Food Safety)
Jonathan Hill/Valdis Dombrovskis (Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union)
Carlos Moedas (Research, Science and Innovation)
Tibor Navracsics (Education, Culture, Youth and Sport)
Margrethe Vestager (Competition)

A Deeper and Fairer Economic and Monetary Union

Vice President: Valdis Dombrovskis (Euro and Social Dialogue)
Elżbieta Bieńkowska (Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs)
Corina Crețu (Regional Policy)
Věra Jourová (Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality)
Jonathan Hill/Valdis Dombrovskis (Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union)
Pierre Moscovici (Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs)
Tibor Navracsics (Education, Culture, Youth and Sport)
Marianne Thyssen (Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility)

A New Boost for Jobs, Growth and Investment

Vice President: Jyrki Katainen (Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness)
Elżbieta Bieńkowska (Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs)
Miguel Arias Cañete (Climate Action and Energy)
Corina Crețu (Regional Policy)
Jonathan Hill/Valdis Dombrovskis (Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union)
Pierre Moscovici (Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs)
Günther Oettinger (Digital Economy and Society)
Violeta Bulc (Transport)
Marianne Thyssen (Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility)
Vytenis Andriukaitis (Health and Food Safety)
Dimitris Avramopoulos (Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship)
Johannes Hahn (European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations)
Phil Hogan (Agriculture and Rural Development)
Věra Jourová (Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality)
Cecilia Malmström (Trade)
Carlos Moedas (Research, Science and Innovation)
Tibor Navracsics (Education, Culture, Youth and Sport)
Karmenu Vella (Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries)
Margrethe Vestager (Competition)

A Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate Change Policy

Vice President: Maroš Šefčovič (Energy Union)
Elżbieta Bieńkowska (Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs)
Miguel Arias Cañete (Climate Action and Energy)
Corina Crețu (Regional Policy)
Phil Hogan (Agriculture and Rural Development)
Karmenu Vella (Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries)
Carlos Moedas (Research, Science and Innovation)
Violeta Bulc (Transport)
Věra Jourová (Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality)
Cecilia Malmström (Trade)
Günther Oettinger (Digital Economy and Society)
Pierre Moscovici (Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs)
Marianne Thyssen (Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility)
Margrethe Vestager (Competition)

A Stronger Global Actor

Vice President: Federica Mogherini (Foreign Affairs and Security Policy)
Johannes Hahn (European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations)
Cecilia Malmström (Trade)
Neven Mimica (International Cooperation and Development)
Christos Stylianides (Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management)
Dimitris Avramopoulos (Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship)
Miguel Arias Cañete (Climate Action and Energy)
Violeta Bulc (Transport)

A European Agenda on Migration

In 2015, when European migrant crisis unfolded, new project team was formed.[24]

First Vice President: Frans Timmermans (Better Regulation, Interinstitutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights)
Federica Mogherini (Foreign Affairs and Security Policy)
Dimitris Avramopoulos (Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship)
Johannes Hahn (European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations)
Neven Mimica (International Cooperation and Development)
Christos Stylianides (Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management)
Věra Jourová (Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality)
Julian King (Security Union)[25]

References

  1. ^ "Jean-Claude Juncker: Experience. Solidarity. Future". European People's Party. Archived from the original on 2020-11-17. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  2. ^ Parliament elects ‘politically ecumenical’ Juncker as Commission President EurActiv
  3. ^ Blow to Cameron as centrist MEPs back Juncker for European commission job The Guardian
  4. ^ Baker, Luke (2014-06-23). "Battle over Juncker underlines EU parliament's 'adulthood'". Uk.reuters.com. Archived from the original on June 30, 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  5. ^ "EUROPEAN COUNCIL DECISION appointing the European Commission" (PDF). European Council. 22 October 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  6. ^ "European Council (23 and 24 October 2014) ‒ Conclusions" (PDF). European Council. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  7. ^ "The new European Commission – Parliament elects new European Commission". European Parliament. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  8. ^ "Juncker Commission takes office". European Commission. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  9. ^ Jean-Claude Juncker: My Agenda for Jobs, Growth, Fairness and Democratic Change Archived 2019-10-30 at the Wayback Machine The Parliament Magazine
  10. ^ "The History of the General Data Protection Regulation | European Data Protection Supervisor". edps.europa.eu. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  11. ^ "EUR-Lex - 2016_185 - EN - EUR-Lex". eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  12. ^ Bürgin, Alexander (2018). "Intra- and Inter-Institutional Leadership of the European Commission President: An Assessment of Juncker's Organizational Reforms: Leadership of Commission President". JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies. 56 (4): 837–853. doi:10.1111/jcms.12648. S2CID 158993394.
  13. ^ a b Bürgin, Alexander (2020). "The impact of Juncker's reorganization of the European Commission on the internal policy‐making process: Evidence from the Energy Union project". Public Administration. 98 (2): 378–391. doi:10.1111/padm.12388. ISSN 0033-3298.
  14. ^ Cerulus, Laurens (July 10, 2014). "Juncker wants more women in new Commission team".
  15. ^ "Poland, Italy nominations leave Juncker needing four more commissioners". Euractiv.com. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  16. ^ EU Commission College Archived 2014-09-13 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ Ansip served until 1 July 2019.
  18. ^ Crețu served until 1 July 2019.
  19. ^ Hill served until 15 July 2016.
  20. ^ Georgieva served until 31 December 2016.
  21. ^ HERSZENHORN, DAVID M. (17 Nov 2016). "'Monster' at the Berlaymont". Politico. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  22. ^ Vice-presidents to lead teams of commissioners
  23. ^ The new structure of the Juncker Commission
  24. ^ Juncker Commission. One year on
  25. ^ President Juncker consults the European Parliament on Sir Julian King as Commissioner for the Security Union