Editing European Commission (section)

==History==
{{Further|History of the European Union}}
The European Commission derives from one of the five key institutions created in the [[Supranational union|supranational]] European Community system, following the proposal of [[Robert Schuman]], French Foreign Minister, on 9 May 1950. Originating in 1951 as the High Authority in the [[European Coal and Steel Community]], the commission has undergone numerous changes in power and composition under various presidents, involving three Communities.<ref name="ENA commission history">{{cite web|title=European Commission|publisher=CVCE|url=http://www.cvce.eu/obj/european_commission-en-281a3c0c-839a-48fd-b69c-bc2588c780ec.html|year=2016|access-date=18 April 2013|archive-date=28 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160928005340/http://www.cvce.eu/obj/european_commission-en-281a3c0c-839a-48fd-b69c-bc2588c780ec.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Establishment===
{{Structural evolution of the European Commission}}

The first Commission originated in 1951 as the nine-member "[[High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community|High Authority]]" under President [[Jean Monnet]] (see [[Monnet Authority]]). The High Authority was the supranational administrative executive of the new European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). It took office first on 10 August 1952 in Luxembourg City. In 1958, the [[Treaty of Rome|Treaties of Rome]] had established two new communities alongside the ECSC: the [[European Economic Community]] (EEC) and the [[European Atomic Energy Community]] (Euratom). However, their executives were called "Commissions" rather than "High Authorities".<ref name="ENA commission history"/> The reason for the change in name was the new relationship between the executives and the [[Council of the European Union|Council]]. Some states, such as France, expressed reservations over the power of the High Authority and wished to limit it by giving more power to the Council rather than the new executives.<ref name="ENA Council history">{{cite web|publisher=CVCE|title=Council of the European Union|url=http://www.cvce.eu/obj/the_council_of_the_european_union-en-de23700c-e50a-4e0e-a7de-80665e4caf9f.html|year=2016|access-date=18 April 2013|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801045415/https://www.cvce.eu/obj/the_council_of_the_european_union-en-de23700c-e50a-4e0e-a7de-80665e4caf9f.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F028459-0019, Robert-Schuman-Preis, Verleihung an Walter Hallstein.jpg|thumb|left|[[Walter Hallstein]], the first President of the Commission]]
[[Louis Armand]] led the [[Armand Commission|first Commission of Euratom]]. [[Walter Hallstein]] led the [[Hallstein Commission|first Commission of the EEC]], holding the first formal meeting on 16 January 1958 at the [[Château of Val-Duchesse]]. It achieved agreement on a contentious cereal price accord, as well as making a positive impression upon third countries when it made its international debut at the [[Kennedy Round]] of [[General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade]] (GATT) negotiations.<ref name="LSE Chair">{{cite web |last=Ludlow |first=N |year=2006 |publisher=[[London School of Economics]] |title=De-commissioning the Empty Chair Crisis: the Community institutions and the crisis of 1965–6 |url=http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/2422/01/Decommisioningempty.pdf |access-date=24 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025203706/http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/2422/01/Decommisioningempty.pdf |archive-date=25 October 2007}}</ref> Hallstein notably began the consolidation of [[Law of the European Union|European law]] and started to have a notable impact on national legislation. Little heed was taken of his administration at first but, with help from the [[European Court of Justice]], his Commission stamped its authority solidly enough to allow future Commissions to be taken more seriously.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eppink |first1=Derk-Jan |author-link=Derk Jan Eppink |translator=Ian Connerty |title=Life of a European Mandarin: Inside the Commission |publisher=Lannoo |edition=1st |location=Tielt, Belgium |year=2007 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/lifeofeuropeanma00eppi/page/221 221–2] |isbn=978-90-209-7022-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofeuropeanma00eppi/page/221 }}</ref> In 1965, however, accumulating differences between the French government of [[Charles de Gaulle]] and the other member states on various subjects (British entry, direct elections to Parliament, the [[Fouchet Plan]] and the budget) triggered the [[Empty chair crisis|"empty chair" crisis]], ostensibly over proposals for the [[Common Agricultural Policy]]. Although the institutional crisis was solved the following year, it cost [[Étienne Hirsch]] his presidency of [[Euratom]] and later Walter Hallstein the EEC presidency, despite his otherwise being viewed as the most 'dynamic' leader until [[Jacques Delors]].<ref name="LSE Chair"/>

===Early development===
{{Politics of the European Union}}

The three bodies, collectively named the '''European Executives''', co-existed until 1 July 1967 when, under the [[Merger Treaty]], they were combined into a single administration under President [[Jean Rey (politician)|Jean Rey]].<ref name="ENA commission history"/> Owing to the merger, the [[Rey Commission]] saw a temporary increase to 14 members—although subsequent Commissions were reduced back to nine, following the formula of one member for small states and two for larger states.<ref name="ENA composition">{{cite web |title=Composition |publisher=CVCE |url=http://www.cvce.eu/obj/composition_of_the_european_commission-en-4b39ad5f-6376-44e4-8144-07e1f84647aa.html |date=31 August 2016 |access-date=18 April 2013 |archive-date=8 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708024003/https://www.cvce.eu/obj/composition_of_the_european_commission-en-4b39ad5f-6376-44e4-8144-07e1f84647aa.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Rey Commission completed the Community's [[customs union]] in 1968 and campaigned for a more powerful, elected, [[European Parliament]].<ref name="Meet Rey">{{cite web |title=Discover the former Presidents: The Rey Commission |publisher=Europa (web portal) |url=http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/history/rey/index_en.htm |access-date=23 August 2007 |archive-date=22 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022225023/http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/history/rey/index_en.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite Rey being the first President of the combined communities, Hallstein is seen as the first President of the modern Commission.<ref name="ENA commission history"/>

The [[Malfatti Commission|Malfatti]] and [[Mansholt Commission]]s followed with work on monetary co-operation and the first [[Enlargement of the European Union|enlargement]] to the north in 1973.<ref name="Meet Mansholt">{{cite web |title=Discover the former Presidents: The Mansholt Commission |publisher=Europa (web portal) |url=http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/history/mansholt/index_en.htm |access-date=23 August 2007 |archive-date=23 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023032752/http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/history/mansholt/index_en.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Meet Malfatti">{{cite web|title=Discover the former Presidents: The Malfatti Commission|publisher=Europa (web portal)|url=http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/history/malfatti/index_en.htm|access-date=23 August 2007|archive-date=23 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023080109/http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/history/malfatti/index_en.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> With that enlargement, the College of Commissioners membership increased to thirteen under the [[Ortoli Commission]] (the [[United Kingdom]] as a large member was granted two Commissioners), which dealt with the enlarged community during economic and international instability at that time.<ref name="ENA composition"/><ref name="Meet Ortoli">{{cite web|title=Discover the former Presidents: The Ortoli Commission|publisher=Europa (web portal)|url=http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/history/ortoli/index_en.htm|access-date=23 August 2007|archive-date=22 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022225018/http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/history/ortoli/index_en.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The external representation of the Community took a step forward when President [[Roy Jenkins]], recruited to the presidency in January 1977 from his role as [[Home Secretary]] of the United Kingdom's [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] government,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/3/newsid_3287000/3287511.stm|work=BBC News|title=1977: Jenkins quits Commons for Brussels|date=3 January 1977|access-date=14 January 2012|archive-date=10 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080110092836/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/3/newsid_3287000/3287511.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> became the first President to attend a [[G8]] summit on behalf of the Community.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deljpn.ec.europa.eu/union/showpage_en_union.external.g8.php |title=EU and the G8 |access-date=25 September 2007 |publisher=European Commission |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070226165606/http://www.deljpn.ec.europa.eu/union/showpage_en_union.external.g8.php |archive-date=26 February 2007}}</ref> Following the [[Jenkins Commission (EU)|Jenkins Commission]], [[Gaston Thorn]]'s [[Thorn Commission|Commission]] oversaw the Community's enlargement to the south, in addition to beginning work on the [[Single European Act]].<ref name="Meet Thorn">{{cite web|title=Discover the former Presidents: The Thorn Commission|publisher=Europa (web portal)|url=http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/history/thorn/index_en.htm|access-date=23 August 2007|archive-date=23 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023013150/http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/history/thorn/index_en.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Jacques Delors===
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F078267-0023, Bonn, Ministerpräsidenten mit EU-Kommissar Delors-CROPPED.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Jacques Delors]], the European Commission president from 1985–1994]]
{{main|Delors Commission}}
The Commission headed by Jacques Delors was seen as giving the Community a sense of direction and dynamism.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Burson-Marsteller |title=The new Commission&nbsp;– some initial thoughts |year=2004 |url=http://www.bmbrussels.be/box_bmnewcomm.php |access-date=17 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923001700/http://www.bmbrussels.be/box_bmnewcomm.php |archive-date=23 September 2006}}</ref> Delors and his College are also considered as the "[[founding father]]s of the [[euro]]".<ref name="Meet Delors">{{cite web |title=Discover the former Presidents: The Delors Commission |publisher=Europa (web portal) |url=http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/history/delors/index_en.htm |access-date=23 August 2007 |archive-date=23 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023032747/http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/history/delors/index_en.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' noted the work of Delors at the end of his second term in 1992: "Mr. Delors rescued the European Community from the doldrums. He arrived when Europessimism was at its worst. Although he was a little-known former French finance minister, he breathed life and hope into the EC and into the dispirited Brussels Commission. In his first term, from 1985 to 1988, he rallied Europe to the call of the single market, and when appointed to a second term he began urging Europeans toward the far more ambitious goals of economic, monetary, and political union".<ref name="IHT Delors quote">{{cite web|last=Merritt|first=Giles|title =A Bit More Delors Could Revamp the Commission|work=International Herald Tribune|date=21 January 1992|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/1992/01/21/edgi_0.php|access-date=17 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080121053056/http://www.iht.com/articles/1992/01/21/edgi_0.php|archive-date=21 January 2008}}</ref>

===Jacques Santer===
{{main|Santer Commission}}
The successor to Delors was [[Jacques Santer]]. As a result of a fraud and corruption scandal, the entire Santer Commission was forced by the [[Parliament]] to resign in 1999. These frauds were revealed by internal auditor [[Paul van Buitenen]], with French commissioner [[Édith Cresson]] being the main target of the allegations.<ref>{{cite book|author=Paul van Buitenen|title=Blowing the Whistle: Fraud in the European Commission|publisher=Politicos Pub|year=2000|isbn=978-1-902301-46-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/experts/default_en.htm |title=Second report on Reform of the Commission. Analysis of current practice and proposals for tackling mismanagement, irregularities, and fraud. Committee of Independent Experts, 1999 |publisher=European Parliament |access-date=25 October 2011 |archive-date=9 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170609175247/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/experts/default_en.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

That was the first time a College of Commissioners had been forced to resign ''en masse'', and represented a shift of power towards the Parliament.<ref>{{cite web|last=Topan|first=Angelina|title=The resignation of the Santer-Commission: the impact of 'trust' and 'reputation'|date=30 September 2002|publisher=European Integration Online Papers|url=http://eiop.or.at/eiop/pdf/2002-014.pdf|access-date=12 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040312015435/http://eiop.or.at/eiop/pdf/2002-014.pdf|archive-date=12 March 2004|url-status=live }}</ref> However, the Santer Commission did carry out work on the [[Treaty of Amsterdam]] and the euro.<ref name="Meet Santer">{{cite web|title=Discover the former Presidents: The Santer Commission|publisher=Europa (web portal)|url=http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/history/santer/index_en.htm|access-date=23 August 2007|archive-date=23 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023032757/http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/history/santer/index_en.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In response to the scandal, the [[European Anti-Fraud Office]] (OLAF) was created.

===Romano Prodi===
{{main|Prodi Commission}}
Following Santer, [[Romano Prodi]] took office. The Amsterdam Treaty had increased the commission's powers and Prodi was dubbed by the press as something akin to a Prime Minister.<ref>{{cite web|last=James|first=Barry|title=Prodi to Have Wide, New Powers as Head of the European Commission|work=International Herald Tribune|date=16 April 1999|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/1999/04/16/eu.2.t_0.php|access-date=17 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017203411/http://iht.com/articles/1999/04/16/eu.2.t_0.php|archive-date=17 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Rossant |first=John |title=Commentary: Romano Prodi: Europe's First Prime Minister? (int'l edition) |magazine=[[Business Week]] |date=27 September 1999 |url=http://www.businessweek.com/1999/99_39/b3648256.htm |access-date=17 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023012122/http://businessweek.com/1999/99_39/b3648256.htm |archive-date=23 October 2007}}</ref> Powers were strengthened again; the [[Treaty of Nice]], signed in 2001, gave the Presidents more power over the composition of the College of Commissioners.<ref name="ENA commission history"/>

===José Manuel Barroso===
{{main|Barroso Commission}}
[[José Manuel Barroso]] became president in 2004: the Parliament once again asserted itself in objecting to the proposed membership of the Barroso Commission. Owing to this opposition, Barroso was forced to reshuffle his College before taking office.<ref>{{cite web|last=Tobais|first=Troll|title=We have to democratise procedures|date=2 November 2004|publisher=Café Babel|url=http://www.cafebabel.com/en/article.asp?T=T&Id=2620|access-date=12 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051129143940/http://www.cafebabel.com/en/article.asp?T=T&Id=2620|archive-date=29 November 2005}}</ref> The Barroso Commission was also the first full Commission since the enlargement in 2004 to 25 members; hence, the number of Commissioners at the end of the Prodi Commission had reached 30. As a result of the increase in the number of states, the Amsterdam Treaty triggered a reduction in the number of Commissioners to one per state, rather than two for the larger states.<ref name="ENA composition"/>

Allegations of fraud and corruption were again raised in 2004 by former chief auditor Jules Muis.<ref>{{cite news |title = Auditor blames politicians for EC waste and corruption |date=8 August 2004 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-10004001.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924182952/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-10004001.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 September 2015 |newspaper= The Sunday Herald |first=Ian |last=Fraser}}</ref> A Commission officer, [[Guido Strack]], reported alleged fraud and abuses in his department in the years 2002–2004 to OLAF, and was fired as a result.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1028391-guido-strack-downfall-whistleblower |title = Guido Strack – the downfall of a whistleblower |date = 6 October 2011 |publisher = VoxEurop |first = Sebastien |last = Beck |access-date = 25 October 2011 |archive-date = 27 December 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131227115236/http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1028391-guido-strack-downfall-whistleblower |url-status = dead }}</ref> In 2008, Paul van Buitenen (the former auditor known from the Santer Commission scandal) accused the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) of a lack of independence and effectiveness.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eur-law.eu/EN/Written-question-E-0860-08-Paul-van-Buitenen,488061,d |title=Paul van Buitenen: Alleged irregularities in OLAF |publisher=Eur-law.eu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330084358/http://eur-law.eu/EN/Written-question-E-0860-08-Paul-van-Buitenen,488061,d |archive-date=30 March 2012}}</ref>

Barroso's first Commission term expired on 31 October 2009. Under the Treaty of Nice, the first Commission to be appointed after the number of member states reached 27 would have to be reduced to "less than the number of Member States". The exact number of Commissioners was to be decided by a unanimous vote of the [[European Council]], and membership would rotate equally between member states. Following the [[2007 enlargement of the European Union|accession of Romania and Bulgaria]] in January 2007, this clause took effect for the next Commission.<ref>See the attached Protocol, Article 4</ref> The Treaty of Lisbon, which came into force on 1 December 2009, mandated a reduction of the number of commissioners to two-thirds of member-states from 2014 unless the Council decided otherwise. Membership would rotate equally and no member state would have more than one Commissioner. However, the treaty was rejected by voters in Ireland in 2008 with one main concern being the loss of their Commissioner. Hence a guarantee given for a rerun of the vote was that the council would use its power to amend the number of Commissioners upwards. However, according to the treaties it still has to be fewer than the total number of members, thus it was proposed that the member state that does not get a Commissioner would get the post of High Representative&nbsp;– the so-called 26+1 formula.<ref>{{cite news|last=Smyth|first=Jamie|title=Rejection may undermine EU's effectiveness, warns Swedish premier|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=5 September 2009|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0905/1224253907844.html|access-date=15 September 2009|archive-date=24 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121224173619/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0905/1224253907844.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://euobserver.com/843/27360 Czechs prepare for possible second Irish No] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120518153334/http://euobserver.com/843/27360 |date=18 May 2012 }}, ''EUobserver'', 8 January 2009</ref> This guarantee (which may find its way into the next treaty amendment, probably in an accession treaty) contributed to the Irish approving the treaty in a second referendum in 2009.

Lisbon also combined the posts of [[European Commissioner for External Relations]] with the council's [[High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy|High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy]]. This post, also a [[Vice-President of the European Commission|Vice-president of the Commission]], would chair the Council of the European Union's foreign affairs meetings as well as the commission's external relations duties.<ref name="Europa web portal">{{cite web |title=The Union's institutions: Commission |publisher=Europa (web portal) |url=http://europa.eu/scadplus/constitution/commission_en.htm |access-date=6 July 2007 |archive-date=19 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819052953/http://europa.eu/scadplus/constitution/commission_en.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Council of the European Union |title=Brussels European Council 21/22 June 2007: Presidency Conclusions |date=20 June 2007 |url=http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/ec/94932.pdf |access-date=22 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070627032310/http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/ec/94932.pdf |archive-date=27 June 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> The treaty further provides that the most recent European elections should be "''taken into account''" when appointing the President of the European Commission, and although they are still proposed by the European Council; the European Parliament "''elects''" candidates to the office, rather than "''approves''" them as under the Treaty of Nice.<ref name="Article 17:7 TEU" /><ref name="Europa web portal"/>

The Barroso Commission is, in reaction to [[Euroscepticism]], said to have toned down enforcement to increase integration.<ref>[https://www.politico.eu/article/curious-case-eu-disappearing-infringements/ The curious case of the EU's disappearing infringements] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427132626/https://www.politico.eu/article/curious-case-eu-disappearing-infringements/ |date=27 April 2022 }} Politico. 2022.</ref><ref>[https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3994918 Where Have the Guardians Gone? Law Enforcement and the Politics of Supranational Forbearance in the European Union] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428115924/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3994918 |date=28 April 2022 }} SSRN. 2021.</ref>

===Jean-Claude Juncker===
{{main|Juncker Commission}}
In 2014, [[Jean-Claude Juncker]] became President of the European Commission.

Juncker appointed his previous campaign director and head of the transition team, [[Martin Selmayr]], as his chief of cabinet. During the Juncker presidency Selmayr has been described as "the most powerful EU chief of staff ever."<ref name="politico">{{cite news|last1=Herszenhorn |first1=David M.|title='Monster' at the Berlaymont|url=http://www.politico.eu/article/monster-at-the-berlaymont-martin-selmayr-european-commission-jean-claude-juncker/|access-date=3 May 2017|agency=Politico|date=17 November 2016|archive-date=27 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327174844/http://www.politico.eu/article/monster-at-the-berlaymont-martin-selmayr-european-commission-jean-claude-juncker/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Ursula von der Leyen===
[[File:(Ursula_von_der_Leyen)_2019.07.16._Ursula_von_der_Leyen_presents_her_vision_to_MEPs_2_(cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Incumbent [[Ursula von der Leyen|President von der Leyen]]]]
{{main|Von der Leyen Commission I|Von der Leyen Commission II}}

In 2019, [[Ursula von der Leyen]] was appointed as President of the European Commission. She submitted the guidelines of her policy to the [[European Parliament]] on 16 July 2019, following her confirmation. She had not been considered a likely candidate (in general, the elected candidate is determined, according to the results of the [[Elections to the European Parliament|European election]], as winner of the internal election into the dominant European party known as "{{lang|de|[[spitzenkandidat]]}}"). While the [[European People's Party]] had won the European Parliament election, they had performed worse than expected and therefore nominated von der Leyen instead of [[Manfred Weber]], their original candidate. On 9 September, the [[Council of the European Union]] declared a list of candidate-commissioners, which are sent to Brussels by the governments of each member state and which had to be officially approved by the parliament.<ref>{{cite web|title=Formation of von der Leyen Commission advances |publisher=European Commission|date=9 September 2019|url=https://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-5537_en.htm|access-date=9 September 2019|archive-date=10 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190910213153/https://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-5537_en.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2024, Von der Leyen revealed her new team of European Commissioners, marking a shift to a "leaner" and more interconnected structure. The lineup featured six executive vice-presidents (EVPs) from France, Finland, Estonia, Italy, Romania, and Spain. These EVPs, including [[Teresa Ribera]] and [[Stéphane Séjourné]], were tasked with overseeing various clusters of Commissioners and steering key policy areas such as prosperity, security, and democracy. [[Raffaele Fitto]] was appointed despite criticism from European socialists over his hard-right affiliations. Other notable appointments included [[Kaja Kallas]] as EVP for Foreign and Security Policy, and [[Henna Virkkunen]] as EVP for Tech Sovereignty and Digital Technologies. The Commission also introduced new roles like the Commissioner for Defence and Security and the Commissioner for the Mediterranean.<ref>{{cite news|last=Jones |first=Mared Gwyn |title=Ursula von der Leyen unveils proposed team of European Commissioners |website=Euronews  |date=17 September 2024 |url=https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/09/17/ursula-von-der-leyen-set-to-unveil-proposal-for-next-team-of-european-commissioners |access-date=17 September 2024}}</ref>