News Release

Romano Prodi

No. 23/04
February 19, 2004

EU EXPANSION: COMMISSION PREPARES FOR ARRIVAL OF NEW COMMISSIONERS ON MAY 1 

The European Commission has agreed the measures it will put in place to ensure the smooth integration of the 10 Commissioners from the new member states from May 1. The new Commissioners will be full members of the College of Commissioners and will play a full and active role in the decision-making process. While they will not have specific portfolios, they will each be associated with the work of an existing Commissioner in order to ease their integration into the Commission's work. The new Commissioners will each have a cabinet.  

President Prodi, who will invite the nominees to Brussels for an informal meeting on March 16, has said: "We look forward to working with our colleagues from the new member states. They are really experienced people of outstanding quality and I am certain they will make an active and positive contribution to the work of this Commission. Their arrival and the recruitment of EU civil servants from their countries will serve to further enrich this administration.”  

Due to the transitional and short-term nature of their mandate, new Commissioners will not hold a specific portfolio. Instead they will be twinned with current Commissioners in their work. Cabinets of the new Commissioners will work closely with the cabinet of the Commissioner with whom they are associated for the period from May 1 to October 31 when the current Commission’s term ends.  

The new Commissioners will be twinned with their colleagues in the following manner.

Markos Kyprianou (Cyprus) - Michaele Schreyer (Budget)

Siim Kallas (Estonia) - Pedro Solbes (Economic and Monetary Affairs)

Péter Balázs (Hungary) - Michel Barnier (Regional Policy and Institutional Reform)

Sandra Kalniete (Latvia) - Franz Fischler (Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development)

Dalia Grybauskaite (Lithuania) - Viviane Reding (Education and Culture)

Joe Borg (Malta) - Poul Nielson (Development and Humanitarian Aid)

Danuta Hübner (Poland) - Pascal Lamy (Trade)

Ján Figel (Slovakia) - Erkki Liikanen (Enterprise and the Information Society)

Janez Potocnik (Slovenia) - Günter Verheugen (Enlargement)

Miloš Kuzvart (Czech Republic) - David Byrne (Health and Consumer Protection)

Press Contacts:

Anthony Gooch 202-862-9523

Maeve O'Beirne 202-862-9549

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