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For the first time in the history of the EU, the European Parliament elected - and not merely approved - the President of the European Commission following a proposal by the European Council, according to the rules laid down in the Lisbon Treaty (December 2009).
422 members voted in favour, 250 against, 47 abstained. The total number of votes cast was 729, 10 of which were non valid.
Juncker's key take-away message in his speech before the European Parliament: "My number one priority and the connecting thread running through each and every proposal will be getting Europe growing again and getting people back to work. To do this, within the first three months of my mandate, I will present a Jobs, Growth and Investment Package to generate an extra EUR 300 billion in investment over the next three years."