Update on the new European Commission
Sep 16, 2014
Mr. Juncker has announced the list of Commissioners-designate. In the new structure of the European Commission as proposed by Mr. Juncker, the units dealing with medicines, medical devices, and health technology will be moved from Directorate General Health and Consumers to the Directorate General Enterprise and Industry. More specifically those units will be under the supervision of the Commissioner for Internal Market Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Mrs. Elżbieta Bieńkowska. Mrs. Bieńkowska will also be responsible for the relations with the European Medicines Agency (EMA). She is the current Polish Minister for Infrastructure and Development and Deputy Prime Minister since the end of 2013. She described herself as technocrat and not a politician.
The general health policies will remain in the domain of the Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Dr. med. Vytenis P. Andriukaitis. He is the current Lithuanian Health Minister.
The candidate commissioners will have their hearings in the parliamentary committees from 29 September to 7 October. On 9 October the political group leaders of the European Parliament will meet to evaluate the hearings.
During the plenary session of 22 October, the Members of the European Parliament will vote to approve the full Commission which would allow the Commission to start working on 1 November.
For further information:
- List of the Commissioners-designate:http://ec.europa.eu/about/juncker-commission/commissioners-designate/index_en.htm
- Details of the portfolios:http://ec.europa.eu/about/juncker-commission/docs/annex-portfolios_en.pdf (see p.9/p.12)