History of the European Union |
---|
European Union portal |
The European Commissioner for External Relations was a member of the European Commission with responsibility over the Commissions external representation in the world and the European Union's (EU) Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The responsibility was shared though between other Commission posts (see below) and the High Representative.
The first Commissioner to hold the post was Jean Rey in 1958, who later became Commission President. The last Commissioner was Benita Ferrero-Waldner who served from 2004 to 2009 in the first Barroso Commission.
As a result of the Treaty of Lisbon, on 1 December 2009, merged the positions of Commissioner and High Representative into a composite entity called the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.