The new Parliament and the new Commission - Main contents
When more than half of eligible voters took part in the European elections on 23-26 May, not only did they vote for the Europe they want, but they also got a say in who’s running it.
They expect the EU to tackle challenges such as climate change, employment, security, digital transformation, and migration. The European Parliament - the EU’s only directly elected institution - is committed to delivering on these issues and the first step is to make sure the right people are in place.
In the coming weeks MEPs play a key role in deciding who will be in positions of responsibility at the Parliament and the European Commission.
The newly elected MEPs will meet in Parliament’s constituent plenary sitting in Strasbourg from 2 to 4 July to elect their President, 14 vice-presidents and five quaestors. They will also decide on the composition of Parliament’s standing committees and subcommittees - thus launching the new legislative term.
Learn more about the European election results and the political composition of the new Parliament
In the following weeks, the committees will hold their first meetings to elect their respective chairs and vice-chairs.
The new European Parliament is due to elect the Commission President during the second plenary session in July on 15-18 July. If successful the President will then have the summer to put a team together based on nominees from national capitals.
The full College of Commissioners will only be elected at the end of October, once the commissioners-designate have been vetted by a series of parliamentary committee hearings in late September/October to assess their competence, suitability and experience for the portfolios they have been assigned.
New Parliament
The new Parliament meets for the first time on 2-4 July in Strasbourg
The first act of the newly-elected European Parliament will be to elect its President for the next two-and-a-half years. Once the newly elected President has taken the chair, MEPs will elect 14 vice-presidents, five quaestors and decide on the size of its committees. Nominations in committees will be decided by the political groups and be announced during a plenary session.
Election of the President of the Commission
The plenary session on 15-18 July marks the first opportunity for Parliament to elect the new President of the European Commission
Before the election, the candidate presents his or her political agenda and priorities for the next five years to Parliament. To be elected President, the candidate needs the support of an absolute majority of MEPs, thus obtaining democratic legitimacy directly from elected MEPs.
Commissioners-designate hearings
The public hearings are set to take place in September and October
The Council, in agreement with the Commission President-elect and based on suggestions from EU countries, adopts a list of candidate commissioners. These commissioners-designate appear before parliamentary committees in their prospective fields of responsibility and will face a lengthy public and transparent questioning on their competence and suitability for the position by the recently elected MEPs.
Election of the European Commission
Once elected by Parliament, the Commission is formally appointed by the European Council, acting by a qualified majority
The full Commission, including the Commission President and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, must be elected by a majority of the votes cast, by roll call, after the President-elect has presented the College of Commissioners and their programme before MEPs.
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Created: 20-06-2019 - 16:51
Updated: 09-07-2019 - 11:50