Europe’s justice commissioner Viviane Reding is back at her desk today apparently emboldened by winning a seat in the European parliamentary elections.

Her native Luxembourg experienced little of the political earthquake seen in France, Denmark, Greece and the UK, with Reding’s Christian Social People’s Party, part of the right-of-centre EPP bloc, returning three of Luxembourg’s six MEPs. 

She hailed a ‘historic result’.

Reding had taken a month’s electoral leave from her position as vice-president and commissioner for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship to campaign in the parliamentary elections. A statement from the European Commission today said he had received the direct backing of voters in Luxembourg. 

Reding will serve as justice commissioner until October.

In her first announcement since resuming her portfolio, Reding welcomed the European Court of Justice’s ruling in the Google ‘right to be forgotten’ case. She described the ruling as a ‘strong tailwind’ for the data protection reform that the European Commission proposed in January 2012 and which is strongly opposed by the UK government.

‘With more challenges in the area of justice coming up in the next weeks, I am looking forward to delivering on what I promised citizens during the campaign: putting Europe at their service,’ said Reding.

The current European Commission’s term of office under José Manuel Barroso runs until 31 October. Under the terms of the 2009 Lisbon Treaty Barroso's successor is to be appointed ‘taking account of the elections to the European parliament’.