- Title: EU lawmakers offer contrasted reviews of Juncker's presidency
- Date: 22nd October 2019
- Summary: STRASBOURG, FRANCE (FILE - MARCH 25, 2019) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF EU PARLIAMENT
- Embargoed: 5th November 2019 12:22
- Keywords: Ciolos Debate Aubry Garcia-Perez Review EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker European Union Strasbourg European Parliament Weber
- Location: STRASBOURG, FRANCE
- City: STRASBOURG, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: European Union,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA002B26JQRR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker on Tuesday (October 22) paid tribute to his team of EU Commissioners during a review of his term by lawmakers, who expressed contrasted views about his five years at the head of the European executive.
Juncker, whose term ends this year, was visibly moved when he said that without his team of 27 Commissioners, he would not have been able to achieve anything during his mandate.
Dacian Ciolos, a former Romanian prime minister who was elected in June the first leader of Renew Europe, the new centrist force that includes French President Emmanuel Macron's La Republique en Marche party, praised Juncker for preserving European unity in the wake of the financial crisis, Brexit and the migrant crisis.
German lawmaker Manfred Weber, who heads Juncker's Europe People's Party in the EU Parliament, said the former Luxembourg Prime Minister was 'one of the great Christian Democrats who shaped Europe' like former European leaders Robert Schuman and Konrad Adenauer.
On the left side of the political spectrum, Socialist lawmaker Iratxe Garcia Perez praised Juncker for his 'European enthusiasm', his 'education' and 'good humour.'
French far-left lawmaker Manon Aubry was less positive about the outgoing president, lifting a cardboard box covered with bank notes and large companies logos during her speech, saying it was a gift from the multinationals that he 'helped during the LuxLeaks' scandal, which revealed how the Luxembourg government offered low tax rates to companies like PepsiCo, AIG and Deutsche Bank.
The launch of the new European Commission, that will be headed by Germany's Ursula von der Leyen, is likely to be delayed by a month because the European Parliament has rejected three candidates proposed by EU governments for commissioners, several EU officials said last week.
(Production Clement Rossignol) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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