A European Commissioner is a member of the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
. Each
Commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
within the college holds a specific portfolio and are led by the
President of the European Commission
The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...
. In simple terms they are the equivalent of
national ministers. Each
European Union member state has the right to a single commissioner (before 2004, the four largest states—France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom—were granted two) and appoints them in consultation with the President.
The accession of
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
in 2007 raised the number of commissioners from 25 to 27, and after the accession of
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
in 2013 the number of commissioners raised to 28.
Below is a list of all past and present European Commissioners according to the member-state they were nominated by, including the Presidents of the
European Coal and Steel Community
The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to regulate the coal and steel industries. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembo ...
and
European Atomic Energy Community
The European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom) is an international organisation established by the Euratom Treaty on 25 March 1957 with the original purpose of creating a specialist market for nuclear power in Europe, by developing nucl ...
. The colours indicate their political background (blue for conservative or centre-right, mainly the
European People's Party
The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...
, red for left-wing or social democrats, mainly the
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a social democratic and progressive European political party.
The PES comprises national-level political parties from all member states of the European Union (EU) plus Norway and the United Kingdom ...
, yellow for centrist or liberals, mainly the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
, and green for green politicians, mainly the
European Green Party
The European Green Party (EGP), also referred to as European Greens, is the European political party that represents national parties from across Europe who share Green values. The European Greens works closely with the Greens–European Fre ...
; and their predecessors).
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
Withdrawn nominees
A number of commissioners were formally nominated and assigned portfolios before being withdrawn after their hearing with the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
, with the exception of Thorvald Stoltenberg, who withdrew after the rejection of Norway's
accession referendum.
Juncker/Von der Leyen transition
The transition from the Juncker Commission to the Von der Leyen Commission resulted in a higher number of withdrawals and rejections than any previous transition. This included an agreement to not fill the seats of Juncker commissioners who took seats in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
, some states abiding by Von der Leyen's request to name female and male candidates in order to have a gender parity (with only one candidate able to be formally nominated), the rejection of several nominees by the European Parliament due to ethical concerns, and some those named to replace the rejected candidates being denied nomination by Von der Leyen.
Notes and references
{{Portal bar, European Union
European Commissioners by nationality
Commissioners by nationality