New European Commission approved by the EP

European Parliament voted in favor of new European Commission and its new President Jean-Claude Juncker. Out of 699 MEPs present, 423 voted in favor, 209 against, with 67 abstaining. In the new EC, Poland will be represented by Elżbieta Bieńkowska who will helm the Internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs Commission. In his speech ahead of the European Parliament vote, Juncker said what is needed is a combination of flexible policies, economic reforms and fiscal discipline. “To those who think excessive austerity will automatically revive growth and create more jobs, they should drop those ideas,” he said. He also said that he would bring forward plans for a €300bn investment program for the EU, but he declined to offer any details.