Michael de Laine

By Michael de Laine, The Copenhagen Voice, 27 November 2009

Danish nominee for EU Commissioner Connie Hedegaard has been given the climate action portfolio, while Günter Oettinger gets the energy portfolio and Janez Potocnik was awarded the environment portfolio.

On Tuesday, Hedegaard - previously Denmark’s Climate and Energy Minister - was nominated as EU Commissioner by Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who also named her Minister for the UN Climate Conference, to be held in Copenhagen next month.

She was succeeded as Climate and Energy Minister by Lykke Friis.

In a statement on behalf of José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, the EU press office said the new Commission must gain approval from the European Parliament before it takes office for a term of office running until 31 October 2014. Commissioners-designate will appear in individual hearings before Parliamentary committees from 11 to 19 January 2010. The vote of consent on the new Commission as a whole is foreseen to take place on 26 January. On the basis of the vote of consent, the Commission shall be appointed by the European Council. Then it can start working.

It will do so on the basis of the political guidelines for the next Commission set out by President Barroso in September last. He highlighted the need for EU leadership, shaping globalisation on the basis of its values and interests. Taking global interdependence as the starting point, he set out a transformational agenda for the EU, a Europe that puts people at the heart of its agenda. He emphasized five key challenges facing Europe:

* Restarting economic growth today and ensuring longñterm sustainability and competitiveness for the future

* Fighting unemployment and reinforcing our social cohesion

* Turning the challenge of a sustainable Europe to our competitive advantage

* Ensuring the security of Europeans

* Reinforcing EU citizenship and participation.

Priorities for tackling these challenges will be set in a ten-year framework to deliver a vision for the EU in 2020, reinvigorating the inclusive social market economy that is the hallmark of the European way of life. The allocation of portfolios has been structured to deliver this ambitious agenda.

In his letters to each Commissioner setting out their new responsibilities, President Barroso has underlined the essential role of the Commission as the motor for the EU’s efforts to address tomorrow’s challenges, as well as the new opportunities provided by the Lisbon Treaty. He repeated his commitment to a smart regulation agenda, respecting subsidiarity and proportionality, focused on clear added value at EU level; paying particular attention to sound financial management; and full respect for the Code of Conduct of the Members of the European Commission. He has also stressed the need for a successful partnership with the Member States and the other institutions, in particular with the European Parliament.