The European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) appointed Gérard Deprez (ALDE) as its new chairman on 22 January 2008 in Brussels. This appointment follows the resignation of Jean-Marie Cavada (ALDE, France), the head of the committee since 2005. Cavada will keep his mandate as an MEP. He explained his gesture by his commitment to the municipal election campaign in France in March. Deprez’s candidature received a large consensus within the committee and did not need to be voted on.