After months of delays, the European Parliament finally approved the new European Commission on March 9, 2010. This cleared the way for the 27-member team (one from each member state), led by President Jose Manuel Barroso, to take office for a 5-year term. The vote resulted in a generous majority in favor, 488, with 137 votes against and 72 abstentions. EU rules require a “take it or leave it” vote meaning that the MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) could only vote on the Commission as a whole, and not on the individual nominees. Each commissioner had already faced a confirmation hearing in the Parliament.
This was the culmination of the appointment process which was originally slated to be completed by November 2009. However, it was initially slowed down by the belated ratification of the Lisbon Treaty and then, Bulgaria’s first nominee resigned after the Parliament accused her of incompetence and financial wrongdoing. She was eventually replaced by Kristalina Georgieva, who had been vice-president of the World Bank.
The Commission is the executive branch of the EU. One of its major duties is managing the EU’s 130 billion euro annual budget. It also proposes legislation and ensures that the laws are properly applied and obeyed throughout the bloc.
In Barroso’s speech after the vote, he emphasized the need for “boldness” because the current situation “demands a radical shift from the status quo”. He urged getting away from the “intellectual glamor of pessimism and constant denigration of the European Union”. He also described the new Europe “2020” guidelines which are meant to promote jobs through sustainable, green growth and revive Europe’s beleaguered economy. He plead for inter-institutional cooperation between the Commission, the Parliament and the Council, and ended his remarks with the prediction that, “Today, a new chapter in our European adventure opens.”
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