European Commissioner for Development

A portfolio in the European Commission is an area of responsibility assigned to a European Commissioner, usually connected to one or several Directorates-General (DGs).

The Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development is held by Phil Hogan and is in charge of rural issues including most notably the controversial Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) which represents 44% of the EU budget. The post used to be combined with Fisheries in the Jenkins and Thorn Commissions. The related DG is the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development

The post of Commissioner for Climate Action was created in February 2010, being split from the environmental portfolio to focus on fighting climate change. The first Commissioner to take the post is Connie Hedegaard who heads the Directorate-General for Climate Action.

The Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager is the member responsible for commercial competition, company mergers, cartels, state aid, and anti-trust law. The position became the sole merger authority for the European Economic Area in September 1990. The Competition Commissioner is one of the most powerful positions in the Commission and is notable in affecting global companies. For example, the commissioner has been pursued a number of high-profile cases against anticompetitive behaviour; such as the case against the merger of Sony - BMG, against Apple Inc. regarding iTunes, the ongoing case against Microsoft and in particular the GE-Honeywell merger attempt in 2001. In 2007, Neelie Kroes (then Competition Commissioner) was the only Commissioner to make Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women; she held position 59.