| European Commissioner for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy | |
|---|---|
| since 1 December 2024 | |
| European Commission | |
| Style | Mr. Commissioner | 
| Reports to | President of the European Commission | 
| Nominator | Member states in accordance with thePresident | 
| Appointer | TheParliament sworn in by theCouncil | 
| Term length | Five years | 
| Formation | 1958 | 
| First holder | Piero Malvestiti | 
| Salary | €19,909 monthly[1][2] | 
| Website | ec.europa.eu | 
TheCommissioner for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy is a member of theEuropean Commission. The post is currently held byStéphane Séjourné, appointed on December 2024.
The portfolio concerns the development of the 480-million-strongEuropeansingle market, promotingfree movement of people, goods, services, and capital. Thus, it is clearly a leading role but has become more complex as the single market for services has developed. A large area of work is now financial services, a politically sensitive topic for some member states. The Commissioner controls theDirectorate-General for Internal Market and Services,Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology and theOffice for Harmonization in the Internal Market.[3][4]
Elżbieta Bieńkowska is a former Polishregional development minister and adeputy prime minister. A self-described technocrat, she was appointed by theEuropean Commission presidentJean-Claude Juncker.
Barnier's appointment was controversial for some. His nomination came after thelate 2000s recession led to criticism of bankers by many. Especially in France, there was a desire to more regulate the financial services sector, which in Europe is largely based around theCity of London.French PresidentNicolas Sarkozy's declaration that Barnier's (thenFrench foreign minister) appointment as Internal Market Commissioner was a "victory" produced considerable worry in the UK that France would use Barnier to push French-inspired restrictive regulation upon the UK's financial centre. Although he said that "we need to turn the page on an era of irresponsibility; we need to put transparency, responsibility and ethics at the heart of the financial system", he has tried to soothe worries in the UK and has reiterated his independence from national influence.[5]
Charlie McCreevy's stated priorities were:[6]
Directives McCreevy was involved with include the directives on:
CommissionerFrits Bolkestein (Netherlands) served in theProdi Commission between 1999 and 2004. In addition to holding the Internal Market portfolio, he also heldTaxation and Customs Union. His head of cabinet was Laurs Nørlund.
Bolkestein is most notable for theDirective on services in the internal market, which is commonly called the "Bolkestein Directive". The directive aimed at enabling a company from onemember state to recruit workers in another member state under the law of the company's home state. It was to help the development of theinternal market for services, the development of which has lagged behind that for goods.
However, there was a great deal of concern about its effect on social standards and welfare, triggering competition between various parts of Europe. This led to significant protests across Europe against the directive, including a notable protest at the European Parliament inStrasbourg by port workers, which led to damage to the building. MEPs eventually reached a compromise on the text and the Parliament adopted it on 12 December 2006; 2 years after Bolkestein left office, under theBarroso Commission.