Following the decision by Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker to give new UK Commissioner Julian King a portfolio focused on security, S&D Group president Gianni Pittella, said:
“Security is a vital topic for the EU and it is good that we will now have someone working specifically on coordinating the European Agenda on Security. This is something European citizens have called for and something we fully support. It is important that this work is done in support of home affairs Commissioner Avramopoulos, and under the direction of first vice-president Timmermans. The approach of leading a task force of experts from existing departments and providing advice is the correct one.
“Before the appointment, we made clear to president Juncker that Julian King’s role should not take away responsibility from any Commissioners from the Socialist family. We are pleased that this is the case. We now need to look at the exact details of what the role will entail but we are pleased that security and migration policy are kept separate; this is something the S&D Group has insisted on for a long time.”
