B2 The Daily of Geopolitical Europe. News. Files. Reflections. Reports

News BlogEuropean policy

You've all been waiting for it -:), European Commission portfolios are awarded

(BRUSSELS2) Following the appointment of Catherine Ashton as High Representative and Commissioner for External Relations, Commission President José-Manuel Barroso today announced the portfolios he envisages for the next 2010 Commission. portfolios remain the same with a few new features, such as the separation of the development portfolio and the (re)creation of a humanitarian aid portfolio. To be more exact, this post corresponds to "international cooperation, humanitarian aid and crisis response", or more or less the commissioner for crisis management whom we were calling for (1) since he will be in charge of civil protection (hitherto attached to DG Environment and which will join DG Echo - Humanitarian aid). We can also notice the separation of the Justice and Home Affairs portfolio in its two attributes: justice and fundamental rights on the one hand, home affairs on the other. This corresponds to the evolution of this policy which becomes a community policy in its own right with the Treaty of Lisbon. Another development: the creation of a Climate Action position in addition to the traditional Environment, Energy and Transport portfolios.

It should be noted that Commissioner Ashton will have to coordinate a trio of commissioners from the East: in fact, humanitarian aid (and civil protection) is entrusted to the Bulgarian Rumiania Jeleva, development to the Latvian Andris Piebalgs, enlargement and the neighborhood policy to the Czech Stefan Füle (former ambassador to NATO). As for international trade relations (WTO), they are entrusted to the Belgian De Gucht, the Internal Market to the Frenchman Barnier, Competition to the Spaniard Almunia, a far more Europhile trio than the previous one and closer to a "Europe that protects " than a Europe open to all winds.

(1) ReadA European Commissioner responsible for crisis management? An idea to explore

For further :
My updated list of curators (with mini-CVs and comments).
I will detail these CVs in the coming days.
On the website of the European Commission the list of portfolios and especially related services. Interesting...

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

Comments closed.

s2Member®