Next Month's Personnel Hearing Expected to Begin
The outline of the next European Commission team of 26 members, who will lead the European Union (EU) for the next five years, was revealed on the 17th (local time).
On the same day, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, held a press conference in Strasbourg, France, and announced the list of 26 candidates for the Commission, including six Vice-Presidents and 20 Commissioners.
The six Vice-Presidents will be held by Spain, Italy, France, Estonia, Finland, and Romania. Teresa Ribera, Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Ecological Transition, was nominated as the Executive Vice-President in charge of the Green Transition and Competition. This position is considered the 'second-in-command' of the EU.
St?phane S?journ?, France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, was named as the Executive Vice-President in charge of Industrial Strategy, and Raffaele Fitto, Italy’s Minister for European Affairs, was nominated as the Executive Vice-President for Integration and Reform.
Initially, Thierry Breton, who served as Commissioner for the Internal Market in von der Leyen’s first Commission, was considered the likely French Commissioner candidate. However, Breton, who reportedly had a falling out with President von der Leyen, publicly stated the day before that she was pressuring France to replace him for personal reasons and subsequently resigned. France immediately nominated Minister S?journ? as the replacement candidate, and President von der Leyen included Minister S?journ? on the list the very next day.
Major foreign media outlets anticipate that Minister Fitto may face obstacles during the European Parliament’s confirmation hearings from centrist and left-wing groups. Minister Fitto is a member of the right-wing ruling party Brothers of Italy (FdI).
Hardline countries against Russia, Lithuania and Estonia, will take on foreign affairs and defense-related roles. Andrius Kubilius, a Member of the European Parliament from Lithuania, was nominated for the newly established Commissioner position for Defense and Space. Former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas was nominated as the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, one of the Vice-Presidents, through prior agreement among the 27 member states.
The gender balance pledge was broken, with the next Commission comprising 40% women and 60% men. Instead, President von der Leyen announced that four of the six Vice-Presidents will be women.
The Commission, equivalent to a cabinet, consists of one member from each of the 27 member states, including the President of the Commission, who is the head of the executive branch.
The European Parliament’s confirmation hearings are expected to begin in earnest next month.
President von der Leyen aims to launch the new Commission on November 1, when her second term begins. However, Slovenia has not approved its candidate in parliament due to domestic political conflicts. Additionally, if the European Parliament demands the replacement of some candidates, the launch of the new Commission could be delayed until December.
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