President-elect Juncker interviews candidates for commissioner

Starting today (2 September), President-elect Jean-Claude Juncker will interview each member state's candidate for commissioner, before taking a final decision and communicating the list of commissioners-designate to the Council of the European Union.

The purpose of these interviews will be to determine each candidate's ability to serve as a European Commissioner, particularly in light of Article 17(3) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), which states that: "The members of the Commission shall be chosen on the ground of their general competence and European commitment from persons whose independence is beyond doubt."

President-elect Juncker already interviewed Federica Mogherini, before giving his agreement (in accordance with Article 18(1) TEU) to the European Council's proposal for her appointment, on 30 August, as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. As the High Representative is at the same time a Vice President of the European Commission, she – as all other Commissioners-designate – will be auditioned by the European Parliament before it votes on the entire College.

Next steps

The timing of the communication of the list of Commissioners-designate to the Council of the European Union will depend on the President-elect receiving candidates from all member states. Belgium has yet to communicate a candidate.

After the final list of Commissioners-designate is adopted in common accord with the Council of the European Union, in accordance with Article 17(7) of the Treaty on European Union, President-elect Juncker intends to announce the distribution of portfolios and the way he intends to organize the work of the next European Commission. This is not expected until mid-next week.

More information

Following an EU-wide election campaign, Jean-Claude Juncker was proposed as candidate for President of the European Commission by the European Council on 27 June 2014. On the basis of the political guidelines he set out before the European Parliament, Jean-Claude Juncker was elected to become next President of the European Commission by a strong majority of 422 votes in the European Parliament plenary session of 15 July 2014.

Homepage of President-elect Jean-Claude Juncker
Political guidelines for the next European Commission: 'A New Start for Europe: My Agenda for Jobs, Growth, Fairness and Democratic Change':
Follow the President-elect on Twitter: @JunckerEU

Share this article: