History of the European Union (2004–present)

There was strong backing for Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt (EDLR) from Republic of Ireland, France and Germany who saw him as a "convinced European and also a fighter".

[2] However the federalist was opposed by Spain[2] the United Kingdom, Italy and Poland due to his vocal opposition to the Iraq War and the inclusion of God in the European Constitution.

The Parliament approved Barroso as president on 22 July 2004 by 413 votes to 215 (44 abstentions) with most of his support coming from the EPP-ED group.

Committees questioned the suitability of Ingrida Udre (Taxation and Customs Union), László Kovács (Energy), Neelie Kroes (Competition) and Mariann Fischer-Boel (Agriculture).

However the most controversial was Rocco Buttiglione as European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security due to his conservative comments (on women's position in marriage and that homosexuality was a sin) which, in the eyes of some MEPs, made him unsuitable for a job securing civil rights in the EU[7] leading to the civil rights committee to be the first committee to vote down an incoming Commissioner.

There were three changes to help his dented authority and win the support of Parliament: Buttiglione had been withdrawn by Italy and replaced by foreign minister Franco Frattini, László Kovács was moved from Energy to Taxation and Ingrida Udre was withdrawn and replaced by Andris Piebalgs who took over the now vacant post of Energy.

That nomination was replaced by Leonard Orban who was given the portfolio of Multilingualism, previously part of Education, Training & Culture.

Socialist leader Martin Schulz MEP suggested it should instead focus on ethnic minorities but this was rejected by Barroso.

Yet the second and third largest groups, the Socialists and the Liberals, failed to put forward an alternative candidate to challenge Barroso even if they had won.

[20][21] Despite this, a loose red-green-yellow coalition (the Socialists and Liberals with the Greens–European Free Alliance) formed against him in an attempt to gain concessions from Barroso.

They demanded Barroso set out clearly his policy guidelines for his next term and offer key posts in the commission to their group members.

[22] They also attempted to push the vote back beyond the ratification date for the Treaty of Lisbon to have more power over his appointment.

The Socialists, Greens and eurosceptic Freedom and Democracy group all declared opposition, criticising the liberals for switching camps.

The new college risks being characterised by internal power struggles instead of teamwork due to the unclear division of responsibilities."

It also included articles regarding the EU flag and anthem (for detail of the changes, see Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe#Content).

Following the constitution's rejection by such central states, the EU leaders declared a "period of reflection" while they decided what to do next.

In addition it was agreed to recommend to the IGC that the provisions of the old European Constitution should be amended in certain key aspects (such as voting or foreign policy).

Among the specific changes were greater ability to opt out in certain areas of legislation and that the proposed new voting system that was part of the European Constitution would not be used before 2014 (see Provisions below).

Lisbon also abolished the pillar system, extending parliamentary oversight to the areas formerly under Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters and to a limited extent the Common Foreign and Security Policy.

Extension of the EU's role in defence and oversight on it also led to the decision on 31 March 2010 to abolish the Western European Union.

[36] The financial crisis hit Eurosceptic Iceland hard and its desire to seek haven in the EU and the euro led to it lodging its first formal application.

[37] In an ongoing program of enlargement, there were nine other candidates: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.

Between then and 31 December 2020, a transition period was in operation that kept in place all other aspects of the relationship to allow businesses to prepare and for a free trade agreement to be negotiated.

[43] Members co-operated and the ECB intervened to help restore economic growth and the euro was seen as a safe haven, particularly by those outside such as Iceland.

Yet with Greece struggling to restore its finances, other member states also at risk and the repercussions this would have on the rest of the eurozone economy; a bail out mechanism was agreed, though with the hope that it would never need to be used.

The crisis also spurred consensus for further economic integration and a range of proposals such as a European Monetary Fund or federal treasury.

[53][54] Likewise, neighbouring EU member countries received a mass influx of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the conflict over the course of the first weeks of the war.