BRUSSELS -- The President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, today announced his line-up of EU commissioners for the next five years.
Of the most influential briefs, the EU's internal market oversight portfolio goes to France, energy to Germany, competition issues to Spain, and international trade to Belgium. Britain's Catherine Ashton has already been named as the new EU foreign minister.
The Czech Republic's Stefan Fuele is the new enlargement and EU neighborhood commissioner, but could face problems over his communist past when the European Parliament votes on the new commission in January.