Brussels Top Twenty
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Your support makes all the difference.ROMANO PRODI President of the Commission. Italian centrist politician and ex-premier charged with giving Brussels a new, fresh start after the debacle of the last Commission's mass resignation.
NEIL KINNOCK Vice-president. British ex-Labour leader in charge of reforming the structures in Brussels that gave the Commission its sleazy image.
LOYOLA DE PALACIO Vice-president. Spanish centre right ex-agriculture minister. Will try to keep the troublesome European Parliament in tow, while also having responsibility for transport and energy.
MARIO MONTI Competition. Italian centre-right ex-commissioner with one of the most powerful jobs in Brussels, regulating Europe's takeovers and commercial practices.
FRANZ FISCHLER Agriculture. Austrian centre-right politician who will try to reform the extravagant and burdensome Common Agricultural Policy.
ERKKI LIIKANEN Enterprise and information society. Finnish socialist who is now in charge of promoting industrial change and modernisation.
FRITS BOLKENSTEIN The internal market. Free-market Dutch liberal will seek to tear down trade barriers within the EU.
PHILIPPE BUSQUIN Research. Belgian socialist with the portfolio that will aom to co-ordinate research and development within Europe.
PEDRO SOLBES MIRA Economic and monetary affairs. Technocratic Spanish socialist will be the "policemen" ensuring that eurozone countries stick to their economic promises.
POUL NIELSON Development and humanitarian aid. Danish socialist who will promote and reform the EU's huge aid programme.
GuNTER VERHEUGEN Enlargement. German social democratic minister will mastermind the negotiations over the EU's long-awaited expansion to the east.
CHRIS PATTEN External Relations. British Conservative and ex-Hong Kong governor with the job of beefing up the Commission's foreign policy presence.
PASCAL LAMY Trade. French former aide to Jacques Delors, now in charge of Europe's role in crucial global trade negotiations.
DAVID BYRNE Health and consumer protection. Irish attorney-general who now faces the task of convincing Europe the food it eats is safe.
MICHEL BARNIER Regional policy. French centre-right politician in charge of the carve up of the EU's lucrative pot of regional and structural assistance.
VIVIANE REDING Education and culture. Luxembourg Christian Democrat with the job of promoting one of the Commission's lowest key portfolios.
MICHAELE SCHREYER Budget. German who becomes the EU's first Green commissioner and who will be asked to take charge of the EU's spending while beefing up fight against fraud.
MARGOT WALLSTROM Environment. Swedish socialist, will try to promote an area with potential for winning over Europe's citizens.
ANTONIO VITORINO Justice and home affairs. Portuguese socialist asked to boost police and justice ministries' cooperation.
ANNA DIAMANTOPOULOU Social affairs. Greek socialist who will push forward rules to harmonise working conditions.
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