European Commissioner for Enterprise & Industry
Encyclopedia
The Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship is a Vice President of the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

. The current commissioner is Antonio Tajani
Antonio Tajani
Antonio Tajani is an Italian politician. He is the current European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship and has also been one of the five Vice-President of the European Commission since May 2008....

.

The post was enlarged from the Commissioner for Enterprise and Information Society portfolio in the Prodi Commission
Prodi Commission
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:...

 to include Industry. See below.

Verheugen (2004-2010)

At the start of the Barroso Commission
Barroso Commission
The Barroso Commission is the European Commission that has been in office since 22 November 2004 and is due to serve until 2014. Its president is José Manuel Barroso, who presides over 26 other commissioners...

 Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, backed by Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 suggested an economic "super-commissioner" to fight for competitiveness
Competitiveness
Competitiveness is a comparative concept of the ability and performance of a firm, sub-sector or country to sell and supply goods and/or services in a given market...

. Although rejected, this idea though has been taken on by Verheugen, as the Enterprise and Industry portfolio was enlarged and was made a Vice President
Vice-President of the European Commission
A Vice President of the European Commission is a post in the European Commission usually occupied by more than one member of the Commission. Since the 2009 Lisbon Treaty entered into force, one of these is ex-officio the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,...

.

As Commissioner, he indicates his aim to increase the competitiveness of Europe, there is a separate Commissioner for Competition
Commissioner for Competition
The Commissioner for Competition is the member responsible for competition of the European Commission. The current commissioner is Joaquín Almunia who is also a Commission Vice President.-Responsibilities:...

 dealing with competition between companies within Europe. However with the numerous economic portfolios, there is a degree of overlap which has been a matter of concern for him along with the purported difficulty of firing director-generals
Directorate-General
A Directorate-General is a branch of an administration dedicated to a specific field of expertise.* The European Commission: Commission Directorates-General are each headed by a European Commissioner;* The European Patent Office: EPO Directorates-General;...

.

Verheugen also chairs the Competitiveness Council Commissionners Group and is the vice chair of the Group of Commissioners on the Lisbon Strategy
Lisbon Strategy
The Lisbon Strategy, also known as the Lisbon Agenda or Lisbon Process, was an action and development plan devised in 2000, for the economy of the European Union between 2000 and 2010....

. He is expected to be the European chair of the new Transatlantic Economic Council
Transatlantic Economic Council
The Transatlantic Economic Council, or commonly called TEC, is a body set up between the United States and European Union to direct economic co-operation between the two economies.-Establishment and chairmanship:...

.

He has stated a desire to cut red tape
Red tape
Red tape is excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or decision-making...

, especially in order to make it more favourable to SME
Small and medium enterprise
Small and medium enterprises or small and medium-sized enterprises are companies whose headcount or turnover falls below certain limits.The abbreviation "SME" occurs commonly...

s. He also highlights research and innovation as "twin keys to future competitiveness". He outlines his priorities as; better regulation
Regulation
Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...

, a modern industrial policy, SMEs and innovation. In order to promote competitiveness, he laid down three policies derived from the treaties; "Competitiveness and improvement of the business environment (Art. 157). Completing and managing the Internal Market
Internal market
An internal market operates inside an organization or set of organizations which have decoupled internal components. Each component trades its services and interfaces with the others. Often a set of government or government-funded set of organizations will operate an internal market...

 for products (Art. 28 and 95) and Innovation and research framework programmes (Title XVIII)."

The commissioner was heavily involved in work on the REACH directive and ensuring its compatibility with the Lisbon Strategy. He sees a common patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....

 in the Union implemented by 2012 which he sees as important as patent application for the 24 million SMEs in Europe are on average 11 times higher than in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Verheugen's head of cabinet is Petra Erler. His deputy head is Simon Mordue and his spokesperson is Ton van Lierop. There was a minor political row over Erler's appointment with allegations of her being appointed due to their friendship. These allegations were later aggravated over photos of them together on holiday holding hands, and then on a naturist beach together in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

.

In response to the refusal of countries to sign the Kyoto protocol
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...

, such as the United States and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, Verheugen asked President Barroso to look into whether the EU could implement taxes on products imported from those countries not taking low-carbon policies on board (Border Tax Adjustments).

List of commissioners

Name Country Period Commission
1 Erkki Liikanen
Erkki Liikanen
Erkki Liikanen is a Finnish social democratic politician and the Governor of the Bank of Finland.-Career:...

 Finland 1999–2004 Prodi Commission
Prodi Commission
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:...

2 Ján Figeľ
Ján Figel
Ján Figeľ is a Slovakian politician, previously European Commissioner for Education, Training & Culture. His area of responsibility also covered sport, youth, and relations with civil society.-Early career:...

 Slovakia 2004 Prodi Commission
Prodi Commission
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:...

3 Günter Verheugen
Günter Verheugen
-Erler:At around the same time, photographs appeared showing him holidaying with Petra Erler, the head of his private office. A Commission spokesman backed him by saying "the private holidays of Vice President Verheugen in Lithuania this summer did not violate the rules applicable to members of the...

 Germany 2004–2010 Barroso Commission
Barroso Commission
The Barroso Commission is the European Commission that has been in office since 22 November 2004 and is due to serve until 2014. Its president is José Manuel Barroso, who presides over 26 other commissioners...

 I
4 Antonio Tajani
Antonio Tajani
Antonio Tajani is an Italian politician. He is the current European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship and has also been one of the five Vice-President of the European Commission since May 2008....

 Italy 2010 onwards Barroso Commission
Barroso Commission
The Barroso Commission is the European Commission that has been in office since 22 November 2004 and is due to serve until 2014. Its president is José Manuel Barroso, who presides over 26 other commissioners...

 II

See also

  • Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry
    Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry (European Commission)
    The Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry is a Directorate-General of the European Commission. The Enterprise Directorate-General works on creating an environment in which European firms can thrive...

  • Lisbon Strategy
    Lisbon Strategy
    The Lisbon Strategy, also known as the Lisbon Agenda or Lisbon Process, was an action and development plan devised in 2000, for the economy of the European Union between 2000 and 2010....

  • European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs
  • European Commissioner for Competition

External links

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