Commissioner

Vice-President of the Commission, Margot Wallström (Photo: EU Commission)

Member of the EU Commission.

The Commission is currently made up of 20 commissioners - at least one national of each Member State (two for France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and Italy). The commissioners are appointed by the Member States. They are chosen for their general competence, and should all guarantee their independence. They have all held political positions in their countries of origin, often as ministers.

Notes

The future

The EU Constitution proposes a Commission consisting of 18 members from 2014. All members must be appointed by a qualified majority of 18 heads of state or government out of 25, and the qualified majority must also represent 65% of the population in the EU. The Council and the President-elect of the Commission establish list of Commissioners together. They are then approved by the European-Parliament and appointed by the European Council according to the above mentioned procedure.

Links

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/commissioners/index_en.htm