Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

Personal tools
Sections
You are here: Home Breaking news EU top jobs up for grabs

EU top jobs up for grabs

26 June 2014, 18:51 CET
— filed under: , ,

(BRUSSELS) - It is all change at the top this year for the European Union, kicking off with who will head the European Commission, the first in a series of fiercely fought battles over appointments.

If the Commission chief is agreed, the focus switches to the presidency of the European Council, which represents the bloc's political leaders who set overall policy direction.

The European Parliament meanwhile will be looking for a new president as soon as the various political parties settle their alliances after May elections.

Last but by no means least, is who will lead the European External Action Service, or foreign policy service, one of the most sought-after and high-profile EU positions.

Here are the EU's top jobs:

PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

The European Commission is the executive arm of the EU, acting as its civil service to draw up the legislative proposals needed to put the European Council's policy decisions into effect.

It also has a key role in initiating policy and ensuring that member states respect their EU obligations, for example respecting competition rules and keeping to strict budget deficit and debt limits.

As such it has great influence, although this has been eroded to some extent since the 2009 Lisbon Treaty formally set up the European Council and gave greater powers to the European Parliament.

The Commission, housed in the huge Berlaymont building in the Schuman district of central Brussels, is very much the public face of the EU and the one which comes in for most criticism.

The Commission comprises the president, eight vice-presidents with key portfolios and then 19 other Commissioners -- one from each member country -- with each of the 28 positions closely contested as a matter of national pride.

The new Commission, which has to be approved by the European Parliament, officially takes up its duties on November 1.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT

The speaker, known as president of the Parliament, is elected by each new assembly after MEPs work out their groupings.

The centre-right European People's Party is the largest group ahead of the Socialists, and combined they have a majority in the 751-seat house.

With both groups backing veteran EU insider Jean-Claude Juncker as head of the Commission, it is likely that current speaker Martin Schulz will continue in the post, at least initially.

The 2009 Lisbon Treaty sharply increased the assembly's powers, especially with the provision that EU member state leaders must take into account the results of the parliamentary elections when choosing the next Commission head.

Parliament -- the EU's only directly-elected institution -- does not initiate but passes legislation to give effect to Commission and Council policy directives, and then monitors its implementation.

CHAIR OF THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL

The Council is the political arm of the EU, bringing together member state leaders and their ministers to make the bloc's policy decisions and set overall direction.

Current head Herman Van Rompuy, a former Belgian premier, is known for his quiet, steady leadership and ability to build common ground, an essential diplomatic skill when 28 leaders are determined that their national interests must be safeguarded at all times.

EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF

As head of the EEAS, Britain's Catherine Ashton has played a high-profile role in many of the top international issues of the day, from Iran's contested nuclear programme to the Middle East peace process and the crisis in Ukraine.

The EEAS has grown from nothing to around 3,000 staff, with offices set up worldwide to give the EU a global face.

Ashton got the job in 2009 backed by former British prime minister Tony Blair and competition this time around will be just as intense as EU leaders battle to get their candidate named to one of the EU's most sought-after jobs.


Document Actions