Czech EU commissioner Stefan Füle will be in charge of EU enlargement

The president of the European Commission Jose Barosso confirmed on Friday that the Czech EU commissioner Stefan Füle has received the EU enlargement portfolio. Aside from evaluating applications for EU membership, Mr. Füle will also be responsible for relations to neighbor states of the EU that are not in line for joining. During the five-year term that Mr. Füle will serve, Croatia is expected to join the European Union. Mr. Füle still has to be officially confirmed in this position by the EU member states and the EU parliament. He replaces Vladimír Špidla, the former Czech EU commissioner, who was in charge of social affairs.