10 December: President Juncker and Commission members will be sworn in by EU Court of Justice

President Juncker and all members of the European Commission will give the solemn undertaking, as laid down by the Treaties, before the Court of Justice of the European Union, in a formal sitting on Wednesday 10 December 2014 in Luxembourg.

With this solemn undertaking, the members of the Commission promise to respect the Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, to carry out their responsibilities in complete independence and in the general interest of the Union. This includes the formal pledge not to seek or take instructions from any government or from any other institution, body, office or entity, to refrain from any action that is incompatible with their duties or the performance of their tasks, and to respect their obligations both during and after their term of office. More in particular, members of the Commission promise to respect the duty “to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance, after [they] have ceased to hold office, of certain appointments or benefits”.

Background

The requirement for European Commission members to ‘give a solemn undertaking’ when entering in office is a long-standing tradition. This provision was included for the first time in the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957) and has been applied for every single Commission that took office from that date onwards. With every new Treaty, the wording of the solemn undertaking is slightly adapted to the new legal situation. Since the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon (2009), the text also includes a reference to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The responsibilities and duties of Commission Members are laid down in Art. 17 of the Treaty on European Union and Art. 245 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

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