Please find below this week's main EU regulatory developments related to advertising.
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Malte
European Commission
Barroso appoints new Commissioners and adjusts portfolios
On 27 November, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso appointed the 26 Commissioners who will drive the EU’s agenda for the next five years. The incoming EU executive must still clear confirmation hearings in the European Parliament in January.
Following weeks of informal negotiations, President Barroso finally unveiled his new team. He surprised observers by shifting all 13 returning Commissioners to different positions. He also adjusted several portfolios. Notable changes relevant to advertisers include the following:
- Maltese conservative John Dalli has been appointed Commissioner for Health and Consumer protection (DG Sanco). Over the past five years, this portfolio was shared by two Commissioners: Cypriot Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou in charge of Health and Bulgarian Commissioner Meglena Kuneva responsible for Consumer Protection. Ms Kuneva will not be forming part of the next Commission, while Ms Vassiliou has been appointed Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth. A newcomer to the Commission, Mr Dalli is an accountant by training and has held various posts in financial administration in Malta and Brussels prior to being appointed Maltese Minister for Social Policy (including health) in March 2008.
- Viviane Reding, currently European Commissioner for Information Society, will now be responsible for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, a portfolio that will include the revision of the 1995 Data Protection Directive. Viviane Reding has already expressed a strong interest in online data protection in the context of marketing communications. She can be expected to be much more active in this field, particularly in the context of the Stakeholder Forum on Fair Data Collection to launched by the European Commission in February 2010 (see EU Brief 26/10/09).
- Importantly, Mrs Reding’s Directorate General for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, will also take over responsibilities for Consumer Contracts and Marketing law, currently with DG Sanco.
- Dutch Commissioner Neelie Kroes — the EU's antitrust chief for the past five years — has been appointed EU Commissioner for the Digital Agenda. The Directorate General for Information Society, previously under the responsibility of Viviane Reding, will report to her. Her responsibilities will include promoting online cross border shopping and overseeing the implementation of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive.
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