2014 â 2019 European Commission Approved

The European Parliament has voted to approve Jean-Claude Juncker’s new Commission. The Commission will take office next month and will run until the autumn 2019.

The new Commission represents a major departure from before, in the past the head of the Commission was nominated by member states, but with Juncker’s appointment the results of the European Parliament elections were taken into account. Juncker can now claim legitimacy from the European Parliament although, this will mean a far more assertive Parliament that will be proactive in its dealings with the Commission.

Juncker’s Commission is wired differently as he has sought to break down policy silos whereby the different Commissioners were not communicating or coordinating their efforts. The introduction of six Vice-Presidents with responsibility for specific policy area and with Commissioners subordinate to them will break down the policy silos and hand responsibility to Commissioners. Andrus Ansip is Vice-President with responsibility for the Digital Single Market, he is in charge of driving the EU Data Protection Regulation. He was previously Prime Minister of Estonia and drove the digital revolution in that country.

Furthermore, Juncker has brought in Frans Timmermans as his right hand man, responsible for cutting the overall burden of regulation, all new policy ideas will be vetted by Mr Timmermans.

The new Commission is the beginning of a new era in the EU, a positive one with increased accountability and legitimacy. The move to limit the burden of regulation is demonstrative of new Commission’s business friendly credentials, I hope they bear out in reality.