Belgique - Bruxelles - Schuman - Berlaymont - 01

The Prodi Commission was 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 ...

in office between 1999 and 2004. The administration was led by former Italian Prime Minister

Romano Prodi Romano Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and twice as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008. Prodi is considered the fo ...

History

The commission took office on 16 September 1999 following the scandal and subsequent resignation of the

Santer Commission The Santer Commission was the European Commission in office between 23 January 1995 and 15 March 1999. The administration was led by Jacques Santer (former Prime Minister of Luxembourg). The body had 20 members and oversaw the introduction of ...

which had damaged the reputation of the institution. The college consisted of 20

Commissioners A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a Wiktionary: commission, commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissi ...

which grew to 30 following the

Enlargement of the European Union The European Union (EU) has expanded a number of times throughout its history by way of the accession of new member state of the European Union, member states to the Union. To join the EU, a state needs to fulfil economic and political condit ...

in 2004. It was the last commission to see two members allocated to the larger

member states A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation. Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign states ...

. This commission (the 10th) saw in increase in power and influence following the

Amsterdam Treaty The Treaty of Amsterdam, officially the Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, was signed on 2 October 1997, and entered into force on 1 May 1999; i ...

. Some in the media described president Prodi as being the first "Prime Minister of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

". As well as the enlargement and Amsterdam Treaty, the Prodi Commission also saw the signing and enforcement of the

Nice Treaty The Treaty of Nice was signed by European leaders on 26 February 2001 and came into force on 1 February 2003. It amended the Maastricht Treaty (or the Treaty on European Union) and the Treaty of Rome (or the Treaty establishing the European C ...

as well as the conclusion and signing of the

European Constitution The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European ...

: in which he introduced the "Convention method" of negotiation. From 1999 Prodi saw in the

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

and by 2002 it came into cash form and the single currency for 12 of the EU's 15 member states. 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.BM: The new Commission – some initial thoughts
bmbrussels.be 2004 The commission was due to leave office on 31 October 2004, but due to opposition from 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 ...

to the proposed

Barroso Commission The Barroso Commission was the European Commission in office from 22 November 2004 until 31 October 2014. Its President of the European Commission, president was José Durão Barroso, who presided over 27 other commissioners (one from Member sta ...

which would succeed it, it was extended and finally left office on 21 November 2004.

Commissioners

When the Commission took office in 1999, there were 20 Commissioners, one from each member state and two from the largest 5 states (

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, 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

New commissioners from 1 May 2004

External links

President Prodi's Website

References

{{European Union topics European Commissions 1999 establishments in the European Union 2004 disestablishments in the European Union Romano Prodi