A New European Commission President

Former Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean Claude Juncker has been confirmed as the next president of the Eruopean Commission.

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Florentin Căpitănescu, 16.07.2014, 13:13

Former Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker has been confirmed as the next president of the European Commission (EC) by the European Parliament. Junker claimed majority support during the European parliament vote on Tuesday, winning 422 ballots from the 751-seat chamber, votes secured by the European People’s Party.

Seen as a genuine European politician, with major accomplishments in Luxembourg, which, during his term as Prime Minister became one of the countries with the highest GDP per capita, Junker has the capacity and will to bring Europe back to the fore-front of international politics. He actually played a major part in saving the European single currency while president of the Eurogroup, the informal body that brings together the finance ministers of the countries whose currency is the Euro.

The speech he gave on Tuesday before the European Parliament is more proof that his plans are ambitious, matching the challenges posed by the position he is to take over on November 1st. He promised an investment plan worth 300 billion Euros, aimed at ensuring economic growth and fighting unemployment, which continues to affect young people. Also with regard to the economy, Juncker’s working agenda includes the revival of European industry, which is far from having recovered from the crisis, and the creation of a solid energy infrastructure in the EU.

As for the free trade agreement with the US, the next head of the EC said it would not be signed at any cost. “ I will not sacrifice Europe’s safety, health, social and data protection standards on the altar of free trade” said Junker, who also promised that negotiations with the US will be transparent. He was equally blunt when speaking about the enlargement policy, saying that the EU will not expand in the coming five years, as it needs time to consolidate the ties between its 28 current members.

However, he highlighted the real progress made by some of the countries that want to join the Union, such as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, which, alongside Georgia, have recently singed the association agreement with the EU. The European policy regarding migration and the Economic and Monetary Union are other priorities on Junker’s agenda, suggestively titled “ A New Start for Europe” .