Odtnhj

The Prodi Commission in 1999

Commission President Prodi

European Union
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of the European Union
Member States Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom Gibraltar Presidency of the Council of the European Union Romania (January - June 2019) Special member state territories EU 3 Withdrawal from the European Union UK invocation of Article 50 Brexit
Treaties The Treaties Treaty of Paris (1951) Treaty of Rome (1957) Euratom Treaty (1957) Merger Treaty (1965) Single European Act (1986) Maastricht Treaty (1992) Amsterdam Treaty (1997) Treaty of Nice (2001) Treaty of Lisbon (2007) Article 7 Article 50 Opt-outs Treaties of Accession 1972, 1979, 1985, 1994, 2003, 2005, 2011 Other Treaties Schengen Agreement (1985) EEA Agreement (1992) Abandoned treaties and agreements European Constitution (2004) UK renegotiation of EU membership (2015-16)
Executive European Council President Tusk (EPP) Parties List of meetings European Commission Juncker Commission President Juncker (EPP) Vice Presidents College Civil Service Secretary-General Selmayr
Legislature European Parliament (Members) President Tajani (EPP) Largest groups EPP (Manfred Weber) S&D (Gianni Pittella) Member of the European Parliament 8th session (2014–19) Bureau Vice Presidents Quaestor Conference Legislative procedure Council of the EU (Presidency) Configurations General Foreign Justice and Home Economic Euro Legislative procedure Voting Secretariat Secretary-General Uwe Corsepius Directorates-general COREPER
Judiciary European Court of Justice Members Rulings General Court
Euro Eurozone Members Austria Belgium Cyprus Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Portugal Slovakia Slovenia Spain Eurogroup President Mário Centeno European Central Bank President Draghi ESCB EMU
Schengen Area Participating Schengen Area States Austria Belgium Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland (non-EU state) Italy Latvia Liechtenstein (non-EU state) Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Norway (non-EU state) Poland Portugal Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland (non-EU state) Prüm Convention Schengen Information System Visa Information System Visa policy of the Schengen Area
European Economic Area EEA Members Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland (non-EU state) Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein (non-EU state) Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Norway (non-EU state) Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom Gibraltar EEA Joint Committee EEA National Identity cards Microstates and the European Union
Court of Auditors Budget OLAF
Other Bodies European Atomic Energy Community Agencies Investment Bank CoR EESC Ombudsman National parliaments Former European Bodies European Communities (1958-1993) European Coal and Steel Community European Economic Community
Law Acquis Primacy Subsidiarity Regulation Directive Decision Fundamental Rights
Policies and Issues Budget Customs Union Four Freedoms Area of FS&J Policies Agricultural Energy Fisheries Regional Citizenship Passports of the European Union Identity Pro-Europeanism Euroscepticism Integration Supranationalism Federalism United States of Europe Enhanced co-op
Elections 1979, 1984, 1989 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009 2014 (last election) Political parties Constituencies Referendums
Other Unofficial EU Currencies Bulgarian lev Croatian kuna Czech koruna Danish krone Hungarian forint Polish złoty Romanian leu Swedish krona Pound sterling ERM II Enlargement of the Eurozone Bulgaria and the euro Croatia and the euro Czech Republic and the euro Denmark and the euro Hungary and the euro Poland and the euro Sweden and the euro Romania and the euro United Kingdom and the euro Black Wednesday Non-Schengen Area States Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Ireland Romania United Kingdom Gibraltar Common Travel Area (UK & Ireland) Multi-speed Europe Candidate Countries for EU Membership Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Macedonia Montenegro Serbia Turkey
Foreign Relations High Representative Federica Mogherini Foreign relations of EU Member States Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom Ext. Action Service Foreign Policy Defence Policy European Union Association Agreement Norway–European Union relations Switzerland–European Union relations United States-European Union relations European Union and the United Nations G7 G20
European Union portal Other countries Atlas
v t e

The Prodi Commission was the European Commission in office between 1999 and 2004. The administration was led by former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

History

The commission took office on 13 September 1999 following the scandal and subsequent resignation of the Santer Commission which had damaged the reputation of the institution. The College consisted of 20 Commissioners which grew to 30 following the Enlargement of the European Union in 2004. It was the last commission to see two members allocated to the larger member states.

This commission (the 10th) saw in increase in power and influence following Amsterdam Treaty. Some in the media described president Prodi as being the first "Prime Minister of the European Union".^[1][2]

As well as the enlargement and Amsterdam Treaty, the Prodi Commission also saw the signing and enforcement of the Nice Treaty as well as the conclusion and signing of the European Constitution: in which he introduced the "Convention method" of negotiation. From 1999 Prodi saw in the euro and by 2002 it came into cash form and the single currency for 12 of the EU's 15 member states.^[3] The body was however criticised for being lacklustre, with poor communication and failing to make an impact despite major events such as enlargement and the euro.^[4]

The commission was due to leave office on 31 October 2004, but due to opposition from the European parliament to the proposed Barroso Commission which would succeed it, it was extended and finally left office on 21 November 2004.

Commissioners

New members of May 2004 with president Prodi

When the Commission took office in 1999, there were 20 Commissioners, one from each member state and two from the largest 5 states (Italy, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom).

2004 saw 15 new Commissioners, 5 replacing existing Commissioners who had resigned before the end of their mandate and 10 from the new member states who joined in that year. Most of these Commissioners continued to serve in the following Barroso Commission.

The members from the new states shared a portfolio with an existing member, rather than creating new posts or having Commissioners (old or new) without a portfolio.

The following table indicates the number of Commissioners according to their political alignment at the start of the Commission, those who joined from the new member states and the number when the Commission left office. The colours reflect those used in the table of Commissioners below.

By political affiliation

Initial College

Portfolio(s)	Commissioner	State	Party
President	Romano Prodi	Italy	ID/DL EDLR
Vice-President; Administrative reform	Neil Kinnock	United Kingdom	Labour PES
Vice-President; European Commissioner for Inter-Institutional Relations and Administration, Transport and Energy	Loyola de Palacio	Spain	PP EPP
Competition	Mario Monti	Italy	independent
Agriculture and Fisheries	Franz Fischler	Austria	ÖVP EPP
Enterprise & Information Society	Erkki Liikanen Served until 12 July 2004	Finland	SDP PES
Enterprise & Information Society	Olli Rehn Served from 12 July 2004	Finland	Keskusta ELDR
Internal Market	Frits Bolkestein	Netherlands	VVD ELDR
Research	Philippe Busquin Served until July 2004	Belgium	PS PES
Research	Louis Michel Served from July 2004	Belgium	MR ELDR
Development & Humanitarian Aid	Poul Nielson	Denmark	SD PES
Enlargement	Günter Verheugen	Germany	SPD PES
External Relations	Chris Patten	United Kingdom	Conservatives ED
Trade	Pascal Lamy	France	PS PES
Health & Consumer Protection	David Byrne	Ireland	independent
Education & Culture	Viviane Reding	Luxembourg	CSV EPP
Budget	Michaele Schreyer	Germany	Greens EGP
Environment	Margot Wallström	Sweden	SAP PES
Justice and Home Affairs	António Vitorino	Portugal	PS PES
Employment and Social Affairs	Anna Diamantopoulou Served until March 2004	Greece	PASOK PES
Employment and Social Affairs	Stavros Dimas Served from March 2004	Greece	ND EPP
Regional Policy	Michel Barnier Served until April 2004	France	UMP EPP
Regional Policy	Jacques Barrot Served from April 2004	France	UMP EPP
Economic & Monetary Affairs	Pedro Solbes Served until 26 April 2004	Spain	PSOE PES
Economic & Monetary Affairs	Joaquín Almunia Served from 26 April 2004	Spain	PSOE PES

New commissioners from 1 May 2004

Portfolio(s)	Commissioner	State	Party
Regional Policy	Péter Balázs	Hungary	independent
Trade	Danuta Hübner	Poland	independent
Economic & Monetary Affairs	Siim Kallas	Estonia	Reform ELDR
Development & Humanitarian Aid	Joe Borg	Malta	PN EPP
Agriculture and Fisheries	Sandra Kalniete	Latvia	Vienotiba EPP
Education & Culture	Dalia Grybauskaitė	Lithuania	independent
Enlargement	Janez Potočnik	Slovenia	independent
Enterprise & Information Society	Ján Figeľ	Slovakia	KDH EPP
Budget	Markos Kyprianou	Cyprus	DIKO ELDR
Health & Consumer Protection	Pavel Telička	Czech Republic	independent

See also

• Bolkestein Directive


• Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe

External links

• President Prodi's Website


• Prodi Commission profiles, portfolios and homepages

References