Early political career
Initially active in the Revolutionary Communist League, he left in 1984 to join the PS and, in 1986, became secretary of the "experts' group" created by Claude Allègre.
In 1988, he moved on to the Ministry for National Education in Minister Lionel Jospin's cabinet, first as conseiller technique, then as chargé de mission.
From 1990 to 1994, he headed the Public Service Modernisation and Financing Department at the Commissariat général du Plan – French Planning Office.
Member of the European Parliament
From 1994 to 1997, Moscovici was a Member of the European Parliament.[4] In parliament, he served on the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. In addition to his committee assignments, he was part of the Parliament's delegation for relations with the countries of Central America and Mexico.[5]
Minister delegate for European Affairs
Elected to the French Parliament from the Doubs département in 1997, he went on to become a Member of the Franche-Comté Regional Council from 1998 to 2004, and of the Doubs département General Council from 1994 to 2002.
From 1997 to 2002, Moscovici was Minister delegate for European Affairs in the government of Lionel Jospin.[6] At the request of Chirac, he represented the French authorities at the Convention on the Future of Europe in 2002.[7]
Member of the French National Assembly
From 2007 to 2012, Moscovici was a Member of the French National Assembly (4th constituency in the Doubs), serving on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and subsequently the Finance Committee. He also served as vice-president of the Assembly's Committee on European Affairs.
He was President of the Pays de Montbéliard Agglomération (PMA – Greater Montbéliard Authority) from 2008 to 2012.
In 2011, Moscovici endorsed François Hollande and ran his successful campaign for the 2012 French presidential election.[12] In the subsequent legislative election, Moscovici was re-elected to the National Assembly from the 4th constituency in the Doubs.
Moscovici served as a Member of the French National Assembly. In May 2014 he was entrusted by the Prime Minister of France with a six-month mission to assess how European policies can better contribute to growth and employment.[13]
In July 2014 President Francois Hollande nominated Moscovici to be France's candidate for the European Commission led by Jean-Claude Juncker.[18][19] Juncker subsequently nominated Moscovici as Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs.
Moscovici served as Commissioner from 2014 until 2019. In this capacity, he was in charge of the application of the Stability and Growth Pact, as well as ensuring the economic soundness of Commission proposals and deepening the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union to create the conditions for jobs, growth and investment, and encouraging further structural reforms. On taxation matters, he was responsible for developing a value added tax system at the European level, improving the functioning of the internal market in both direct and indirect taxation and fighting tax fraud and tax evasion. His responsibilities also included the development and management of an efficient European Union Customs Union.[20]
By 2017, Moscovici openly advocated a fully formed eurozone finance minister, and admitted that he would be interested in that position. In the meantime, the as Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs should also assume the presidency of the Eurogroup.[21]
In a 2018 letter to Sergei Stanishev, then chairman of the Party of European Socialists (PES), Moscovici ruled himself out of the race to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker and become the commission's next president, “due to profound disagreements with [the French Socialist Party’s] political line and strategy on Europe.”[22]