Barroso names new European Union Commissioners

The head of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, has revised his choice of 25 Commissioners after he was forced to withdraw his last list of candidates. Controversy was sparked by his choice of conservative Italian Rocco Buttiglione for the Justice Commissioner position, who made several statements regarding homosexuality and women that members of the European Parliament objected to.

His new line-up, according to the BBC, is mostly identical to his previous one; only two previous candidates (the Italian Buttiglione and the Latvian Ingrīda Ūdre) have been replaced. The European Parliament voted in favour the Commissioners on November 18th, giving Barroso and his staff the green light to start their official five-year term starting on Monday. While the Greens, Eurosceptics and the Communist Party voted against, the Commission secured the approval of the Parliament's biggest parties - the Socialists, the Liberals and the European People's Party. The vote ended with 449 in favour, 149 against and 82 abstentions, CNN reports.