European Commissioner for Transport

European Commissioner for Transport
Incumbent Violeta Bulc since 1 November 2014
Appointer	Jean-Claude Juncker
Term length	Five years
Formation	1958

The Commissioner for Transport is the member of the European Commission. The current commissioner is Violeta Bulc.

The portfolio is responsible for the development of transport infrastructure in the European Union such as road and rail networks but also navigation systems such as the Galileo positioning system.

Tajani (2008–2010)

Antonio Tajani was Commissioner from 2008 to 2010. Being head of the Forza Italia delegation in Europe, on 8 May 2008 he was appointed by the newly elected Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, as Italy's EU Commissioner. He replaced Franco Frattini who was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Barrot (2004–2008)

Commissioner Barrot was approved by the European Parliament in 2004 and made a Vice-President in the Barroso Commission. However shortly after he began work, UKIP MEP Nigel Farage revealed Barrot had previously been convicted of fraud in 2000. French President Jacques Chirac had granted him presidential amnesty. A fact the Commissioner did not disclose during his hearing to the Parliament. Despite calls from some MEPs for him to be suspended he remained in office.

A major project during his term is the Galileo positioning system. Work on the system began a year before Barrot came to office and has developed since with the launch of the first satellite. However infighting within private sector partners may be a potential setback to the project with Barrot favouring greater funds from the EU budget [1]. Other work includes recent guarantees of air passenger rights [2] and the Single European Sky.

List of commissioners

	Name	Country	Period	Commission
1	Michel Rasquin	Luxembourg	1958	Hallstein Commission
2	Lambert Schaus	Luxembourg	1958–1967	Hallstein Commission
3	Victor Bodson	Luxembourg	1967–1970	Rey Commission
4	Albert Coppé	Belgium	1970–1973	Malfatti Commission, Mansholt Commission
5	Carlo Scarascia-Mugnozza	Italy	1973–1977	Ortoli Commission
6	Richard Burke	Ireland	1977–1981	Jenkins Commission
7	Giorgios Contogeorgis	Greece	1981–1985	Thorn Commission
8	Stanley Clinton Davis	United Kingdom	1985–1988	Delors Commission
9	Karel Van Miert	Belgium	1989–1992	Delors Commission II
10	Abel Matutes	Spain	1993–1994	Delors Commission III
11	Marcelino Oreja	Spain	1994–1995	Delors Commission III
12	Neil Kinnock	United Kingdom	1995–1999	Santer Commission, Marín Commission
13	Loyola de Palacio	Spain	1999–2004	Prodi Commission
14	Jacques Barrot	France	2004–2008	Barroso Commission I
15	Antonio Tajani	Italy	2008–2010	Barroso Commission I
16	Siim Kallas	Estonia	2010-2014	Barroso Commission II
16	Violeta Bulc	Slovenia	2014 onwards	Juncker Commission I

See also

• Barrot scandal
• Directorate-General for Transport and Energy
• European Driving Licence
• Galileo positioning system
• Trans-European transport networks
• Transport in the European Union

External links

• Commissioner's website
• Commission transport portal
• Transport white paper
• Galileo