page_title: Barroso Commission
section_title: First college
hierarchical_section_title: Barroso Commission / Composition / First college
caption_attribution_description: at a conference on legal transparency, Stockholm, Sweden
context_page_description: The Barroso Commission was the European Commission in office from 22 November 2004 until 31 October 2014. Its president was José Manuel Barroso, who presided over 27 other commissioners. On 16 September 2009 Barroso was re-elected by the European Parliament for a further five years and his Commission was approved to take office on 9 February 2010.
  Barroso was at first seen as the lowest common denominator by outside commentators, but his proposed team of Commissioners earned him some respect before triggering a crisis when the European Parliament objected to some of them, forcing a reshuffle. In 2007 the Commission gained two new members when Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union.
  Barroso's handling of his office was markedly more Presidential than his predecessors'. During his term the Commission passed major legislation including the REACH and 'Bolkestein' Directives. Under Barroso, the civil service in the Commission became more economically liberal.
context_section_description: Member states appointed one Commissioner each (including the President). It was the first Commission where larger member-states did not have two Commissioners and the first full Commission following the 2004 enlargement. From 2004 there were 25 members, raising to 27 from 2007. There were 9 women in the college as of 3 March 2008 and no ethnic minorities, Barroso had stated he wished for more women in his Commission, than in previous Commissions, and he would use his influence over national capitals to gain this. Most Commissioners (20) were born in the 1940s and 1950s with the youngest member being Olli Rehn (born 1962) and the oldest being Jacques Barrot (born 1937).
  Most members were former ministers with links to the Union, for example being Foreign Minister, Minister for European Affairs or represented their country in accession talks or at the European Convention. In addition to Barroso both Siim Kallas and Vladimír Špidla were former Prime Ministers. Viviane Reding was the only Commissioner with a background in the European Parliament.
  Politically they came from each of the major political parties; the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (8), the European People's Party (8) and the Party of European Socialists (6). In addition there were 4 Independents and one member of the Alliance for Europe of the Nations. Barroso had been complimented for balancing the portfolios between countries, such as between small and large, new and old, and pro- and anti- (Iraq) war. Before 2007 there were only 7 Liberals and 3 Independents.
caption: Margot Wallström, First Vice-President and Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy
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