European Parliament vote on Juncker European Commission to go ahead on October 22
Votes by European Parliament committees to approve a final two candidate European Commissioners after an 11th-hour reshuffle have opened the way for MEPs to vote on October 22 whether to approve Jean-Claude Juncker’s European Commission.
If the European Parliament plenary vote approves European Commission President-designate Juncker’s commission, the EU’s new executive body will take office on November 1 2014 for a five-year term.
Changes to the initial proposal for the Juncker EC came after European Parliament committee members turned down the nomination of Slovenian former prime minister Alenka Bratusek.
In response, Juncker put forward Slovenia’s Violeta Bulc for the transport portfolio. The initial Transport Commissioner-designate, Slovakia’s Maroš Šefčovič, was reassigned as European Commission Vice President for Energy Union.
Fresh hearings were held on the evening of October 20 and both Bulc and Šefčovič were approved.
Proceedings on October 22 will begin at 9am with Juncker presenting the final composition of his team and its work programme.
Juncker will have the opportunity to reply to letters setting out the European Parliament’s evaluation of each Commissioner-designate as approved by the Conference of Presidents of Parliament’s political groups.
Statements by political group leaders will be followed by a broader debate on the allocation of portfolios and priorities for the Commission’s work.
At noon Strasbourg time, the European Parliament will vote a resolution on the proposed Commission, before voting on the college as a whole.
The European Parliament elects or rejects the proposed European Commission by a majority of votes cast in an electronic roll-call vote.
(Photo of Juncker: EC Audiovisual Service)
