Janez Potočnik

Janez Potočnik [ja ː nɛz potɔtʃnɪk ] ( born March 22, 1958 in kropa ) is a Slovenian politician and European Commissioner.

Training

Potočnik studied until 1989 economics at the University of Ljubljana. Subsequently, he was an assistant professor at the Faculty of Law. He received his doctorate in economics in 1993.

Career in Slovenia

From 1993 to 2001 he worked at the Institute for Macroeconomic Analysis and Development in Ljubljana, but was back in 1998 Slovenia's chief negotiator in the accession negotiations with the EU. He was Minister for European Affairs of Slovenia, and finally in 2004 the European Commissioner in 2002.

Career in the European Union

On 1 May 2004 he was, together with Günter Verheugen, EU Commissioner for Enlargement. Verheugen had held the office since 1999, by the Slovenian EU accession he was added. In the Barroso Commission I, which held office from 18 November 2004 to the end of its mandate on 31 October 2009 Potočnik was responsible for science and research policy. Following in the footsteps Commission ( Barroso II Commission, since 10 February 2010 ), he took over the environment portfolio.

2004 enlargement of the European Union Michel Barnier Frits Bolkestein David Byrne (politician) Anna Diamantopoulou Franz Fischler Neil Kinnock Pascal Lamy Erkki Liikanen Mario Monti Poul Nielson Loyola de Palacio Romano Prodi Viviane Reding Michaele Schreyer Pedro Solbes Jacques Barrot Stavros Dimas Siim Kallas Olli Rehn Franco Frattini Neelie Kroes Louis Michel Andris Piebalgs Charlie McCreevy Catherine Ashton Leonard Orban Antonio Tajani Androulla Vassiliou Tonio Borg John Dalli Kristalina Georgieva Connie Hedegaard Janusz Lewandowski Fritz Hellwig Altiero Spinelli Filippo Maria Pandolfi Antonio Ruberti Ioannis Paleokrassas Ritt Bjerregaard
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