Announcing the result of today’s vote in Strasbourg, the President of the European Parliament, Mr Jerzy Buzek MEP, said that ‘it is now time for action.’ Since 11 January, MEPs have heard from each of the Commissioners-designate, including the Irish nominee, Máire Geoghegan Quinn, in the EP Committees relevant to the portfolio they had been assigned. Today’s vote is the culmination of that process. By 488 votes to 137 (72 abstentions), MEPs approved the new European Commission.
Mr Buzek said that ‘this is a crucial vote by the European Parliament. Not all the Commissioners are new, but all Commissioners have new portfolios. This brings new challenges and opportunities; it is now time for action. This new European Commission has a lot of potential and there are high hopes in the European Parliament.’
He said that ‘we need all the EU institutions working at full speed including the European Commission in order to overcome the economic crisis and meet our citizens’ huge expectations. The hearings process in the European Parliament has ensured that we have the best possible European Commission in place.”
Please see our explanatory note on the European Parliament’s hearings.
To watch videos of the hearings which took place between 11 January and 3 February, please visit EP Live’s Multimedia Library.
To comment on the hearings, please see the European Parliament’s Facebook page.
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For further information, please contact:
Eimear Ní Bhroin, Press Officer, European Parliament Office in Ireland at eimear.nibhroin@europarl.europa.eu / 086 8559423.