A Vice-President of the European Commission is a member of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

who leads the commission's work in particular focus areas in which multiple European Commissioners participate. Currently, the European Commission has a total of six Vice-Presidents: five Executive-Vice Presidents, and the High Representative who is ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

'' one of the Vice-Presidents as well.

Role and benefits

The role of Vice-President of the European Commission may be bestowed on any European Commissioner in addition to their existing portfolio. Vice-Presidents are appointed by the

President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission, also known as president of the College of Commissioners is the Head of government, head of the European Commission, the Executive (government), executive branch of the European Union (EU). The president ...

and confirmed by the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

. Since the 2009

Lisbon Treaty The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is a European agreement that amends the two Treaty, treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all Member stat ...

, the

High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Un ...

is automatically and permanently one of the Vice-Presidents by virtue of their position as High Representative (commonly referred to as the 'HR/VP' role). This means they are not appointed as Vice-President as such, and the appointment procedure to the position of High Representative is different from that of the Commissioners. Commission salaries are set as a percentage of the top

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

grade. Vice-Presidents are paid at 125% (€22,122.10 monthly), in comparison to 112.5% (€19,909.89) for normal Commissioners and 138% (€24,422.80) for the President.REGULATION No 422/67/EEC, 5/67/EURATOM OF THE COUNCIL
EurLexBase salary of grade 16, third step is €17,697.68
European Commission: Officials' salaries
– accessed 19 March 2010 However, the vice-president who also serves as the High Representative is paid at 130% (€23,006.98).Council Decision of 1 December 2009 laying down the conditions of employment of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
EurLex There are further allowances on top of these figures.

Executive Vice-President

The von der Leyen Commission established a new position of Executive Vice-President. There are three Executive Vice-Presidents, each appointed from one of the three largest political groups in the

. In addition to their 'regular' role as Commissioner, they also manage a broader and horizontal policy area involving the coordination of multiple Commissioners. Unlike the other Vice-Presidents, Executive Vice-Presidents are assigned a specific Directorate-General under their authority for this part of their job and their policy areas are considered the top priorities of the incumbent European Commission. Between 2004 and 2019, the position of First Vice-President existed instead. The main role of this position was that of a

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

in the narrow sense: taking over from the President in their absence. The position was established under the Barroso I Commission in 2004, with its first occupant being Margot Wallström. She was succeeded in the second Barroso Commission by

Catherine Ashton Catherine Margaret Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland (born 20 March 1956) is a Labour Party (UK), British Labour politician who served as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of th ...

who was also the

. The last First Vice-President was Frans Timmermans as part of the

Juncker Commission The Juncker Commission was the European Commission in office from 1 November 2014 to 30 November 2019. Its President of the European Commission, president was Jean-Claude Juncker, who presided over 27 other commissioners (one from Member state of ...

, who subsequently became one of three Executive Vice-Presidents in 2019.

List of vice-presidents

Legend: – – * First Vice-Presidents are in ''italics''. * Executive Vice-Presidents are in bold.

Notes

References

External links

European Commission Website
ec.europa.eu {{CommissionPortfolios