1. (Insight-EU-Profile)
Croatia's European Commissioner-designate, Neven Mimica
By Daniel O'Brien and Peter Mayer, dpa
Neven Mimica is set to become Croatia's first European Commissioner when he takes up the
consumer policy portfolio. A hearing before MEPs helped shift Mimica out of the shadows of
Croatian domestic politics and onto the European stage.
Brussels (dpa Insight) - Croatia's European Commissioner-designate says his priorities in the
post "will be guided by consumers" but some of his replies to questions asked during a
mandatory hearing in the European Parliament did not convince all those present.
Over the past year and a half, in his position as one of Croatia's deputy prime ministers,
Neven Mimica has been Zagreb's chief negotiator with the EU. He is now set to take over the
European Commission's consumer policy portfolio when Croatia joins the EU in July.
A rare figure in Croatian politics for being popular with both the centre-right and the centre-left,
the 59-year-old Mimica's career has included stints as an academic and a diplomat.
The three "Cs"
Addressing MEPs in Brussels during his June 4 parliamentary hearing, Mimica chose three
words - consolidate, cooperate and communicate - to sum up his objectives during the
remaining 16 months of the Barroso-led Commission's term in office.
With consumers representing 56 per cent of the EU's Gross Domestic Product, Mimica said
he believes that the - soon to be - 28-nation bloc's economic recovery should be anchored in
stimulating Europeans to buy and sell products and services.
Mimica also stressed the "need to establish a consumer culture in Europe" and pledged to pay
particular attention to those consumers who are negatively affected by the current economic
downturn.
With reference to the first of the "three Cs" Mimica indicated he that he does not plan to
introduce major new policies before the 2014 European elections, and that he would instead
seek to consolidate existing policies ensuring that they were implemented correctly and
efficiently.
Advocating a policy of "cooperation" within the European Commission, during his three-hour
long quizzing session before the lawmakers, Mimica frequently repeated his belief that
consumer issues should be dealt with in a horizontal manner across various commission
portfolios. Responding to a question by British Conservative MEP Adam Bielan, on how he

2. would ensure that "consumers benefit from the single market, Mimica replied: My role will be to
front-load consumer interestes".
Mimica defined his objective of "communication" as increasing public awareness on issues
that interest consumers. Asked by Slovakian MEP, Jaroslav Paska from the mostly eurosceptic
Europe of Freedom and Democracy grouping, how consumers should be informed of their
rights, Mimica said this could be done by using "clear and easy language".
Vulnerability
Mimica, repeatedly emphasised to MEPs his belief in the importance of protecting the "most
vulnerable". In this context he spoke of the possibility of mapping consumer vulnerability in
Europe -
particularly in the energy sector through the simplification of billing among other measures.
When German MEP Evelyne Gebhardt from the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) grouping
asked Mimica if he favoured a collective redress system for claims against defective products,
he said he would, provided it among other things, respected national legal systems.
Some MEPs chose to quiz the Commissioner-designate on very specific issues. Germans
Peter Liese from the European Peoples Party (EPP) and the S&D's Dagmar Roth-Behrendt,
asked Mimica where he stood on a centralized pre-market authorization procedure for high-risk
medical devices - the subject of proposed legislation currently being debated in the European
Parliament. Mimica said that he was open to discuss any "good amendments and viable
proposals," related to the issue, but said he "wouldn't go too much into elaborating on shifting to
a centralized pre-market authorisation."
French MEP Bernadette Vergnaud from the S&D appeared positively impressed with Mimica's
responses."He came across as somebody that was very clear, frank and straight forward ...
moreover he has shown in his political career that he is really able to move European issues
forward," she said.
However, at times during the hearing, Mimica appeared to sidestep questions and in some
cases MEPs tried to push him by repeating queries during a "supplementary question" period.
One MEP who was particularly critical of Mimica’s performance was German Andreas Schwab
from the EPP. "Neven Mimica has proven to be a serious person but he must catch up with the
European Parliament's request for the enforcement of concrete EU laws," Schwab said in a
statement issued after the hearing.
"Before being confirmed as a European Commissioner he must respond more concretely to
MEPs’ questions," Schwab, who is the EPP's Group Coordinator in the Internal Market and
Consumer Protection Committee, said.

3. The EPP grouping which holds the majority of seats in Parliament, have, Schwab said, "two
key demands" from a future European Commissioner for Consumer Protection: Firstly, that
member states adopt EU consumer law into their national legislation and that the Commissioner
swiftly launches infringement procedures against those EU states that don't comply; and
secondly, that the necessary funds are put in place for a properly-functioning platform for Online
Dispute Resolution (ODR), the costs of which are some 8.5 million euros.
“These two issues will be the mark by which the EPP Group will judge the Commissioner-
Designate," Schwab said.
The Coordinators of the political groups in the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer
Protection are set to draft a letter which will evaluate Mimica's at the Parliament hearing. The
letter will serve as a basis for the plenary vote which is scheduled to take place at the June
session of the European Parliament.
## Biographical details
Neven Mimica was born in Split on October 12, 1953. After graduating from the University of
Zagreb with a degree in foreign trade, Mimica went to work as a staff member at the Socialist
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia’s committee on foreign relations. He rose through the ranks and
was posted to the Yugoslav embassy in Cairo in 1987 where he worked as an economic
advisor. Mimica continued to work at the embassy after the breakup of Yugoslavia and the
establishment of the Republic of Croatia, but moved moved to the Croatian embassy in Ankara
in 1993.
In 1997 Mimica became the assistant minister of economic affairs for international economic
relations. He was also Croatia's chief negotiator for the country's admission to the World Trade
Organization and the Central European Free Trade Agreement. This was followed in 2001 by
his appointment as Minister for European Integration. In 2003 he was elected to parliament a
representing the Social Democratic Party of Croatia.
Mimica has published several academic papers on European integration, international
economic cooperation, and Croatia's relations with other states.
## Weblinks
-->[Biography on Croatian government website] (http://dpaq.de/jIxSQ)
--> [European Commission press release announcing Mimica's nomination as Consumer
Policy Commissioner, April 25, 2013] (http://dpaq.de/2hwmb)

4. --> [EPP group press release Mimica Hearing: too vague answers demand follow-up, June 4,
2013] (http://dpaq.de/w6tlr)
--> [European Parliament Q&A with Mimica] (http://dpaq.de/2SVG5)
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