Team Juncker approved in the EP: let’s now get down to work

“This European Commission is the Commission of the citizens”, said Manfred Weber MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, following the approval by the European Parliament of the new Juncker European Commission.

“Today’s vote is a very special moment. It is the final step in the ‘Spitzenkandidaten’ process, a great step towards more transparency and more democracy in Europe. Never in the EU’s history has a Commission President benefited from such democratic legitimacy and parliamentary support”, Manfred Weber said.

“The European Parliament has taken its role seriously. We have examined the candidates thoroughly. The hearings were tough but fair. The hearings illustrate democracy in action! In most Member States, the executive is not subject to such a rigorous and transparent assessment”, he said, recalling that “any delay in the procedure of nomination was due to the Council’s hesitations, not the Parliament’s.”

“Now, let’s get down to work. The number of challenges that lie ahead is enormous”, continued Weber. “For the EPP Group, the Commission’s priority must be to find concrete solutions to our citizens’ problems. On stability, on growth and jobs, on security issues and migration, but also on foreign affairs, we need to come up with answers and show the added value of Europe.”

“Jean-Claude Juncker and his team are the right people for this task. I am happy that a constructive majority of the European Parliament has expressed its support for Mr Juncker’s team and ambitious programme”, he concluded.