. In the process of doing so, I have had to take account of a number of different and sometimes contradictory expectations, both from political groups in this House and from Member States. As you will be aware, I had to choose the members of my team in agreement with each Member State, and the responsibility is therefore shared, which is a point I should like to stress. During discussions with my colleagues in the Council I made sure that Parliament’s concerns were raised, and I proposed the changes I believe to be necessary.
To sum up, I have brought two new Commissioners onto my team, Mr Frattini and Mr Piebalgs, and I have reallocated Mr Kovács’s portfolio. All three of these Commissioners have now appeared before hearings held by parliamentary committees, and this has made it possible both for Members of this House and for the wider public to become better acquainted with them and to gain a better understanding of their vision of Europe. I should also like to express my thanks to Parliament for the flexibility it has shown in organising these hearings, which nevertheless retained all their substance and stringency. These hearings provided you with an opportunity to ask the Commissioners-designate serious and complex questions, and I believe that the answers they gave to these questions were very good ones.
Whilst presenting my team to you today, I should of course like to reaffirm my commitment to the establishment of a new group of Commissioners responsible for basic rights, the fight against discrimination and equal opportunities, as well as my intention to put forward proposals on a series of ambitious measures aimed at strengthening our respect for basic rights. This is an issue which touches upon all areas and which all Commissioners must bear in mind, and this is why I myself will act as chairman of the group with Mr Frattini, Vice-President of the Commission, as vice-chairman.
Finally, I have taken other steps as announced before the October part-session, which include the putting in place of e