The good, the bad and the ugly of Jean-Claude Juncker’s presidency

For five years, Jean-Claude Juncker has been head of the European Commission. Luxembourg’s former Prime Minister is known for always being able to crack a joke, but as his term ends this year, it’s a good time to look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of his track record as president of the European Commission.  

The good

The Juncker Commission has achieved some results when it comes to concluding new trade deals. Most prominently there are its trade agreements with Canada and Japan, with the latter creating the biggest trade area ever. It may not be an orthodox free-trade agreement, as its standards could function in a protectionist manner, but the perfect is the enemy of the good. Juncker, and especially his Swedish Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, deserve credit here. Unfortunately, Juncker was unable to conclude the TTIP trade deal with the United States, but it may have been killed off by President Trump anyway. The EU Commission hasn’t been perfect during the trade tensions with Trump, as it engaged in counter-tariffs