A Vice-President of the European Commission is a member of the European Commission who leads the commission's work in particular focus areas in which multiple European Commissioners participate.
Currently, the European Commission has a total of six Vice-Presidents: five Executive-Vice Presidents, and the High Representative who is ex officio one of the Vice-Presidents as well.[1]
Since the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is automatically and permanently one of the Vice-Presidents by virtue of their position as High Representative (commonly referred to as the 'HR/VP' role). This means they are not appointed as Vice-President as such, and the appointment procedure to the position of High Representative is different from that of the Commissioners.
Commission salaries are set as a percentage of the top civil service grade. Vice-Presidents are paid at 125% (€22,122.10 monthly), in comparison to 112.5% (€19,909.89) for normal Commissioners and 138% (€24,422.80) for the President.[2][3] However, the vice-president who also serves as the High Representative is paid at 130% (€23,006.98).[4] There are further allowances on top of these figures.[2]
Executive Vice-President
The von der Leyen Commission established a new position of Executive Vice-President. There are three Executive Vice-Presidents, each appointed from one of the three largest political groups in the European Parliament. In addition to their 'regular' role as Commissioner, they also manage a broader and horizontal policy area involving the coordination of multiple Commissioners. Unlike the other Vice-Presidents, Executive Vice-Presidents are assigned a specific Directorate-General under their authority for this part of their job and their policy areas are considered the top priorities of the incumbent European Commission.[5][6]
