EU: The new European Commission will take office on Monday, three weeks later than planned, following an emphatic vote of support yesterday in the European Parliament for Mr Jose Manuel Barroso's revised team.
In favour were 449 MEPs, 149 voted against and 82 abstained, with most members of the parliament's three biggest political groups backing Mr Barroso.
The incoming commission president told MEPs that boosting economic growth and protecting Europe's social model would be his Commission's priorities for the next five years.
Mr Barroso suggested the stand-off between MEPs and the new Commission which delayed its approval had been good for the EU. "We are able to say to the people of Europe that we have come out of this experience with strengthened institutions, in a better position to meet their expectations," he said.
Ireland's new commissioner, Mr Charlie McCreevy, said he was looking forward to getting down to work on the internal market portfolio next week.
"It's three weeks later than originally envisaged so I'm glad to have it over," he said.
Mr McCreeevy described the debate that saw the withdrawal of two nominees, including the Italian conservative Mr Rocco Buttiglione, as a healthy sign for European democracy and he said that Mr Barroso had dealt with the complicated selection as well as possible.
"I don't think President Barroso is damaged in any regard . . . He has to deal with the procedure that's given to him," he said.
Fine Gael's five MEPs, Fianna Fáil's four, Labour's Mr Proinsias De Rossa and Independent MEP Ms Marian Harkin voted in favour of the new Commission. Sinn Féin's two MEPs and the Democratic Unionist Party's Mr Jim Allister voted against. Independent MEP Ms Kathy Sinnott and the Ulster Unionist Party's Mr Jim Nicholson abstained.
MEPs overwhelmingly backed a resolution calling on Mr Barroso to sack any commissioner who lost the confidence of the European Parliament or to justify his failure to do so. Mr Barroso welcomed some elements of the proposal, which he described as a basis for negotiating a new institutional agreement between the commission and the parliament.
Mr De Rossa said Mr Barroso had made enough changes to his team to justify yesterday's vote and claimed that the European Parliament had been strengthened. "This has been an important exercise in European democracy. The European Parliament, directly elected by the citizens of Europe, has been strengthened as a result of the unflinching position adopted by the Socialist Group in defence of all citizens' rights," Mr De Rossa said.
Within the European Parliament, the Socialists appeared to have been the biggest beneficiaries of recent events, remaining united and securing Mr Buttiglione's resignation without having to sacrifice a Socialist commissioner. The leader of the centre-right European People's Party, Mr Hans-Gert Poettering, faced sharp criticism from within his own political group for his clumsy handling of the crisis.
There were mutterings too within the Liberal group against its leader, Mr Graham Watson, who failed to persuade his colleagues to back the new commission before Mr Buttiglione withdrew.