As the European elections approach, several European Commissioners have already announced what they plan to do after their mandate ends in November 2019, revealing a variety of projects.
The current President of the Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, announced more than two years ago that he would not seek a second term as President. According to Politico, his project would be, at least initially, to spend time with his family in Luxembourg.
Following the results of the European elections next May, he could be replaced by his first vice-president, Frans Timmermans, the latter having been appointed head of the list (Spitzenkandidat) by the Party of European Socialists, with the ambition of taking him to the top of the EU executive.
Vice-Presidents Andrus Ansip and Valdis Dombrovskis, as well as Commissioner Corina Creţu, are candidates in the European elections. However, Mr Dombrovskis announced on 1 February that he would not oppose a second term as a Commissioner.
Although they have not yet made any formal statements, other Commissioners would also like to renew their terms of office. According to Politico, Johannes Hahn would like to focus on economic policy rather than the European Neighbourhood Policy and the enlargement negotiations. For his part, Phil Hogan, who murmured he was coveting the Trade portfolio, would actually like to serve a second term as Agriculture Commissioner. Finally, Margrethe Vestager reportedly told Politico on 5 October 2018 that she had clearly expressed to the Danish government her desire to retain her position as Competition Commissioner, even though her party is in opposition in Denmark.
According to Politico, Věra Jourová and Mariya Gabriel could also seek a new mandate as commissioners. The Czech government reportedly told Mrs Jourová that she could stay in Brussels if she wanted to. Its decision is expected to be announced in June or July.
Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič and Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis announced on 18 January and 15 February respectively their official candidates in the presidential elections, the first in Slovakia and the second in Lithuania.
The plans of Vice-President Federica Mogherini and Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, on the other hand, remain rather vague. Even if Ms Mogherini had announced on Monday 3 September that she did not wish to obtain a new mandate as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, which would in any case be unlikely due to the direction of the current Italian Government, she would have told her colleagues that she would like to continue working in the field of foreign policy.
As for Mr Moscovici, while he was regularly announced to the French Court of Auditors in replacement of Didier Migaud, himself a candidate for the French Constitutional Council, this possibility seems to have been compromised since Alain Juppé's surprise appointment to the Constitutional Council, to the detriment of Mr Migaud. In an interview with FranceTV on 15 February, Mr Moscovici assured FranceTV that he is not “a candidate for any position other than to serve my country and serve Europe”.
Finally, like Mr Juncker, some Commissioners are reportedly planning to withdraw from political life. According to Politico, Günther Oettinger would be looking for opportunities in the private sector, Jyrki Katainen would return to Finland, where his wife would run for a seat in the Parliament in the April elections, and Miguel Arias Cañete would be eager to spend time with his grandchildren. Marianne Thyssen, for her part, had officially announced on 12 July 2018 that she would leave active political life at the end of her mandate. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot - intern)