L’ex primo ministro del Lussemburgo Jean-Claude Juncker è stato eletto presidente della Commissione europea
He got 422 votes out of the 729 total cast in the secret ballot, despite strong opposition earlier from Britain.
A firm believer in EU integration, he will succeed incumbent Jose Manuel Barroso of Portugal in November.
In a speech to MEPs, he pledged the Commission would be a “political body”, not just Europe’s civil service.
He got sustained applause when he said the euro “protects Europe”.
Mr Juncker was well over the 376 votes minimum that he needed.
There were 250 votes against him, 47 abstentions and 10 spoilt ballots.
Mr Juncker, a veteran of Brussels deal-making, was lead candidate of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), which won May’s European elections. He played a key role in the eurozone bailouts.
The presidency is the most powerful job in Brussels. The Commission drafts EU laws, oversees national budgets, enforces EU treaties and negotiates international trade deals.
In his speech, he said the old European Monetary System, before the single currency, had aggravated inflation and tensions between EU states.
The euro’s disciplines had ensured monetary stability, he insisted.
At that point there were some shouts of “rubbish!” from UK Independence Party MEPs.
