Jean-Claude Juncker elected new President of European Commission

With 422 votes in favour, the European Parliament elected Jean-Claude Juncker in a secret ballot on 15 July as President of the new European Commission to take office on 1 November 2014 for a five year term. The minimum number of votes required was 376.

For the first time in the history of the EU, the European Parliament elected – and not merely approved – the President of the European Commission following a proposal by the European Council, according to the rules laid down in the Lisbon Treaty (December 2009).

422 members voted in favour, 250 against, 47 abstained. The total number of votes cast was 729, 10 of which were non valid.

As the lead candidate of the party which won most seats in the European elections of 22-25 May, the former Prime Minister of Luxembourg had been nominated as candidate to the EU top position by the European Council on 27 June in a formal vote, with 26 heads of state or government voting in favour of Jean-Claude Juncker (EPP) and two voting against.

The Commission President-elect will now send official letters to the member states’ leaders inviting them to propose their candidate members of the Commission.

Meanwhile, former Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen and three other interim commissioners-to-be were grilled by MEPs before taking up their posts for the next four months. Katainen, who will replace economic affairs commissioner Olli Rehn, is the only one of the four who is likely to stay on as commissioner once the new EU commission is voted in, in October. The EU parliament was to vote on their eligibility on July 16.

The interim commissioners are replacing their national representatives after they took up their seats as MEPs earlier this month. Martine Reicherts from Luxembourg, an EU official in charge of the bloc’s publications and a yoga teacher will replace Viviane Reding, the former justice and civil liberties commissioner until Juncker – also from Luxembourg – becomes head of the EU commission.

Italy’s former EU ambassador, Nelli Feroci, will replace industry commissioner Antonio Tajani and Poland’s Jacek Dominik is to replace budgets commissioner Janusz Lewandowski.

More hearings are scheduled for all 28 new commissioners in September.