European Commissioner for Justice

European Commissioner for Justice
since 1 December 2019
European Commission
StyleMr. Commissioner
Reports toPresident of the European Commission
NominatorMember states
in accordance with the President
AppointerThe Parliament
sworn in by the Council
Term lengthFive years
Formation1995
First holderAnita Gradin

The Commissioner for Justice is a post in the European Commission. The portfolios of Justice and Equality were previously combined as Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality under commissioner is Věra Jourová; however, the two portfolios were split in 2019. Didier Reynders currently serves as Justice Commissioner and Helena Dalli serves as Equality Commissioner.

Portfolio

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The post was created in 2010 by splitting the previous Justice, Freedom and Security portfolio into a justice post (the subject covered here) and a security post: the Commissioner for Home Affairs. This split was made as a concession to the liberals in the European Parliament to gain their support for the second Barroso Commission.

A major innovation of the Juncker Commission is the nomination of a First Vice-President, Frans Timmermans, for Better Regulation, Inter-Institutional Relations, Rule of Law and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. His role includes to "guide and coordinate all other Justice and Home Affairs(JHA)-related Commissioners, in particular those of the new DG Justice (Věra Jourová) and the DG Home Affairs (Dimitris Avramopoulos)".[1]

The portfolio of the Commissioner has evolved under the Juncker Commission and renamed into Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality. Major changes are :

  • "The Commissioner for Justice no longer holds the title [of "Commissioner for EU Citizenship"] that was used in the previous Commission. [...] Other citizenship-related matters regarding ‘communication to citizens’ have been moved from DG Communication and attributed to the new Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Citizenship."[1]
  • "Issues related to non-discrimination in employment [and the rights of persons with disabilities] have been removed from DG JUST and placed back under DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. However, DG JUST still holds responsibility for the wider non-discrimination portfolio."[1]
  • DG JUST gained competences on issues related to Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility, previously in DG Internal Market and Services (MARKT), and on issues related to Consumer Affairs. Regarding Consumer Affairs, the whole directorate has been transferred from DG Health and Consumers (SANCO) - now DG Health and Food Safety (SANTE), except for Health Technology and Cosmetics issues, for which DG Enterprise and Industry (ENTR) gained responsibility.[1]
  • The responsibility of Anti-Drug Policy has been transferred to DG Home Affairs (HOME).[1]

List of commissioners

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DG Justice, Freedom and Security (1995–2010)

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Name Country Period Commission
Anita Gradin  Sweden 1995–1999 Santer Commission
António Vitorino  Portugal 1999–2004 Prodi Commission
Franco Frattini  Italy 2004–2008 Barroso Commission I
Jacques Barrot  France 2008–2010 Barroso Commission I

DG Justice and Consumers (2010–present)

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Name Country Period Commission
Viviane Reding  Luxembourg 2010–2014 Barroso Commission II
Věra Jourová  Czech Republic 2014–2019 Juncker Commission
Didier Reynders  Belgium 2019–present Von der Leyen Commission

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Carrera, S. and Guild, E. (2014) "The Juncker Commission: A New Start for EU Justice and Home Affairs Policy?", CEPS Essay
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