Juncker became President of the Commission in November 2014, promising to remove unnecessary red tape at both European and national levels and find ways to deepen cooperation between national parliaments and the Commission.
However, he has now found himself in the middle of the EU's worst crisis since its inception: over migrants, lack of trust, lack of transparency, tax evasion, revolving doors, troubles in the Eurozone and Brexit.
Juncker's grand plan to relocate 160,000 migrants from Italy and Greece to member states, according to a quota system has failed to move more than around 5,000 in a year, because of opposition from many countries — particularly in Eastern Europe —to accept them, amid growing Islamophobia.
#Cleric Calls On #Schengen Countries To Be Responsible For #Asylums In Their #Land — #visareporter https://t.co/VZoiYCCnb3 pic.twitter.com/XwCs8w5GqG
— karthikkoduri (@karthikkoduri) October 6, 2016
The complete failure to garner support for his plan has led to member states erecting borders, plunging the Schengen 'borderless Europe' concept into chaos. Hungary and Slovakia are threatening a legal challenge to his migration plan and Sweden has become the latest state to threaten legal action against Hungary for not taking back refugees which first arrived at its borders.
Juncker is also facing a backlash against his EU-Turkey migrant deal, which has run into massive opposition, both from member states and from the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, as well as many NGOs.
Under the deal, "irregular migrants" — those refused asylum in Greece — are to be relocated back to Turkish refugee camps in return — on a one-for-one basis — for Syrian refugees being relocated from Turkish camps to EU member states.
As part of the deal, Turkish accession into the EU would be speeded up and its citizens be granted visa-free access into the Schengen area of the EU. However, this has hit the buffers over Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's refusal to make changes to anti-terror laws that critics say are being used to crack down on opposition and the media.
Juncker hit out at member states in a recent interview with France 24 and Radio France International, saying:
"It's not the EU that's failing, some member states are failing. That's the difference. The European Commission — back in May [2015] — proposed a way to deal with the refugee crisis. The parliament backed that proposal. The Council of Ministers adopted that proposal, but some member states disagree."
Lack of Transparency
He has also some in for personal criticism over investigations into the LuxLeaks scandal, which uncovered a series of sweetheart deals with hundreds of companies to pass profits via Luxembourg in an effort to reduce tax liabilities in member states. Juncker was prime minister of the grand duchy from 1995 to 2013, during which time he also served as finance minister. He has denied having any role in the special tax arrangements.
Meanwhile, he has become embroiled in the "revolving doors" scandal, after it was announced his predecessor — Jose Manuel Barroso — was appointed non-executive chairman of Goldman Sachs International (GSI) in a lobbying role, which critics say was too soon after leaving office. Another leak exposed ex-commissioner, Neelie Kroes, who was found to have been the director of a company, established in 2000, in the Bahamas, that was to be the vehicle for a proposed deal to acquire some of energy company Enron's assets.
The directorship was not declared in the register of interests she completed when joining the European Commission in 2004, which is in breach of the Commission's rules that require Commissioners to declare all professional activities in the ten-year period before becoming a Commissioner.
Meanwhile, there are troubles in the Eurozone, with Greece teetering on bankruptcy and Spain and Portugal in breach of fiscal rules on their deficits. There are suggestions that the Eurozone will have to move towards greater political and fiscal union, if the currency is going to survive.
As Juncker picks up his "European Engagement" award, he faces an ever more disengaged Europe — epitomized by Britain's decision to leave the EU and rising euroskepticism throughout Europe.
