Brussels, 12/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - In Strasbourg on Tuesday 12 June, Neven Mimica, the European commissioner designate for consumer policy, received broad support from the European Parliament to take up the post for which he has been nominated and become the Croatian member of the European Commission on 1 July. His appointment received 565 votes in favour (64 against and 64 abstentions), in a secret vote which was not preceded by a debate.
The future 28th commissioner is to be officially appointed by the Council of the EU in June in a qualified majority vote. He will then take up his position in the Barroso Commission on 1 July 2013, the date of Croatia's official accession to the European Union, for a fairly brief term in office which will end on 31 October 2014, the date on which the next Commission will take up its duties. Mimica will be in charge only of the consumer policy portfolio.
On behalf of the European Commission, its vice-president, Olli Rehn, pointed out that in line with Article 21 of Croatia's accession treaty, the Council consulted the European Parliament on its intention to appoint the Croatian commissioner and welcomed the positive vote of the MEPs. He thanked the Parliament for having acted on this consultation “in all diligence”.
During his hearing before the parliamentary committee on the internal market and consumer protection, with the involvement of the Parliamentary committee on the environment, on 4 June, Mimica summed up his priorities in three words: “consolidation, cooperation and communication” and pledged, amongst other things, to work closely with the European Parliament (see EUROPE 10859). Although a number of MEPs were unsatisfied by the sometimes vague responses of the commissioner designate, his performance was assessed positively by the two competent parliamentary committees. (AN/transl.fl).