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European commissioner
A European commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the president of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent of government ministers.
Commissioners are nominated by member states in consultation with the commission president, who then selects a team of commissioners. This team of nominees are then subject to hearings at the European Parliament, which questions them and then votes on their suitability as a whole. If members of the team are found to be inappropriate, the president must then reshuffle the team or request a new candidate from the member state or risk the whole commission being voted down.[citation needed] As parliament cannot vote against individual commissioners there is usually a compromise whereby the worst candidates are removed but minor objections are put aside, or dealt with by adjusting portfolios, so the commission can take office. Once the team is approved by the parliament, it is formally put into office by the European Council (TEU Article 17:7).[citation needed]
Although members of the commission are allocated between member states, they do not represent their states. Instead, they are supposed to act in European interests. Normally, a member state will nominate someone of the same political party as that which forms the current government. There are exceptions, such as Member of the Commission Richard Burke (of Fine Gael), who was nominated by Taoiseach Charles Haughey (of Fianna Fáil). In the past, when the larger states had two seats, they often went to the two major parties, such as in the United Kingdom.
Twelve of the current 27 members are women. The first female commissioners were Christiane Scrivener and Vasso Papandreou in the 1989 Delors Commission. Peter Mandelson (2004 to October 2008) was the first openly gay commissioner.
European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek proposed in 2010 that commissioners be directly elected, by member states placing their candidate at the top of their voting lists in European elections. That would give them individually, and the body as a whole, a democratic mandate.
Each member is required to take an oath before the Court of Justice of the European Union, officially the Solemn Declaration before the Court of Justice of the European Union. The Charter of Fundamental Rights gained legal force on 1 December 2009. Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding subsequently proposed that commissioners should swear to uphold it also. The second Barroso Commission went to the Court of Justice on 3 May 2010 for the first such oath alongside their usual oath. The oath taken by the members of the Barroso Commission was:
Having been appointed as a Member of the European Commission by the European Council, following the vote of consent by the European Parliament I solemnly undertake: to respect the Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in the fulfilment of all my duties; to be completely independent in carrying out my responsibilities, in the general interest of the Union; in the performance of my tasks, neither to seek nor to take instructions from any Government or from any other institution, body, office or entity; to refrain from any action incompatible with my duties or the performance of my tasks. I formally note the undertaking of each Member State to respect this principle and not to seek to influence Members of the Commission in the performance of their tasks. I further undertake to respect, both during and after my term of office, the obligation arising therefrom, and in particular the duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance, after I have ceased to hold office, of certain appointments or benefits.
Until 2004, the larger member states (Spain upwards) nominated two commissioners and the smaller states nominated one. As the size of the body was increasing with enlargement, the larger states lost their second commissioner after the 2004 enlargement with the new Barroso Commission being appointed under the Treaty of Nice.
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European commissioner
A European commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the president of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent of government ministers.
Commissioners are nominated by member states in consultation with the commission president, who then selects a team of commissioners. This team of nominees are then subject to hearings at the European Parliament, which questions them and then votes on their suitability as a whole. If members of the team are found to be inappropriate, the president must then reshuffle the team or request a new candidate from the member state or risk the whole commission being voted down.[citation needed] As parliament cannot vote against individual commissioners there is usually a compromise whereby the worst candidates are removed but minor objections are put aside, or dealt with by adjusting portfolios, so the commission can take office. Once the team is approved by the parliament, it is formally put into office by the European Council (TEU Article 17:7).[citation needed]
Although members of the commission are allocated between member states, they do not represent their states. Instead, they are supposed to act in European interests. Normally, a member state will nominate someone of the same political party as that which forms the current government. There are exceptions, such as Member of the Commission Richard Burke (of Fine Gael), who was nominated by Taoiseach Charles Haughey (of Fianna Fáil). In the past, when the larger states had two seats, they often went to the two major parties, such as in the United Kingdom.
Twelve of the current 27 members are women. The first female commissioners were Christiane Scrivener and Vasso Papandreou in the 1989 Delors Commission. Peter Mandelson (2004 to October 2008) was the first openly gay commissioner.
European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek proposed in 2010 that commissioners be directly elected, by member states placing their candidate at the top of their voting lists in European elections. That would give them individually, and the body as a whole, a democratic mandate.
Each member is required to take an oath before the Court of Justice of the European Union, officially the Solemn Declaration before the Court of Justice of the European Union. The Charter of Fundamental Rights gained legal force on 1 December 2009. Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding subsequently proposed that commissioners should swear to uphold it also. The second Barroso Commission went to the Court of Justice on 3 May 2010 for the first such oath alongside their usual oath. The oath taken by the members of the Barroso Commission was:
Having been appointed as a Member of the European Commission by the European Council, following the vote of consent by the European Parliament I solemnly undertake: to respect the Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in the fulfilment of all my duties; to be completely independent in carrying out my responsibilities, in the general interest of the Union; in the performance of my tasks, neither to seek nor to take instructions from any Government or from any other institution, body, office or entity; to refrain from any action incompatible with my duties or the performance of my tasks. I formally note the undertaking of each Member State to respect this principle and not to seek to influence Members of the Commission in the performance of their tasks. I further undertake to respect, both during and after my term of office, the obligation arising therefrom, and in particular the duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance, after I have ceased to hold office, of certain appointments or benefits.
Until 2004, the larger member states (Spain upwards) nominated two commissioners and the smaller states nominated one. As the size of the body was increasing with enlargement, the larger states lost their second commissioner after the 2004 enlargement with the new Barroso Commission being appointed under the Treaty of Nice.