The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, is asking Member States not to appoint substitutes for the European Commissioners who will decide to sit in the European Parliament from 2 July.
"If the Heads of State or Government insisted on replacing them, no citizen would understand it", Mr Juncker said in an interview with the German weekly Bild am Sonntag on Sunday 2 June.
Under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, each Member State is entitled to one Commissioner in the College of the European Commission. Any resigning Commissioner may be replaced for the remainder of the Commission's term of office by a new member of the same nationality (Article 246). He/she is appointed by the Council of the EU by common accord with the President of the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament.
Nevertheless, the Council of the EU may decide unanimously, on a proposal from the President of the Commission, that there is no need for a replacement, in particular where the term of office of the remaining Member of the Commission is short.
Elected to the European Parliament were: the Dutchman Frans Timmermans, leading candidate of the Party of European Socialists, the Estonian liberal Andrus Ansip (Digital Single Market), the Latvian Christian Democrat Valdis Dombrovskis (Financial Services), the Bulgarian Christian Democrat Mariya Gabriel (Digital Economy), the Romanian Social Democrat Corina Creţu (Regional Policy) (see EUROPE 12264/3). They must decide, by early July, whether to leave office.
Between the beginning of July and the end of October, there will remain 4 months of mandate for the European Commission.
Mr Juncker clearly states that this is the end of the mandate, that "our job is done" since all the proposals announced in 2014 have been put in place, considered the spokesman of the European institution, Monday 3 June. He assured that the College, even if it had several members amputated, would continue to function normally until the end of October.
According to the President of the Commission, "there is simply not enough work to keep 28 Commissioners busy all day". Hence the need, in his view, to appoint vice-presidents and reduce the number of portfolios. However, the cost to the taxpayer is estimated at "a million euro" in terms of salaries, staff and pensions, regardless of the duration of the position. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)