The President-elect of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is expected to start formal “hiring” interviews with the future Commissioners on 27 August.
At this stage, 25 Member States have put forward candidates (see other news). France and Italy’s nominees are still missing, while the United Kingdom formalized its decision not to participate in the process in a letter on 23 August, given its imminent exit from the EU.
Belgium is the latest country to have announced the name of its candidate, on Saturday 24 August. It is Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister of the Reformist Movement, a liberal party sitting with the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament. As a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Defence, Mr Reynders is expected to lead economic, budgetary and international affairs issues.
This appointment is not without its difficulties for the government of Charles Michel, who has resigned, is in the minority, and is involved in current affairs in Belgium, which has been seeking a new majority since the May parliamentary elections.
According to the Belgian press, several parties are calling for a discussion in the national parliament on this decision, while the nationalist party Vlaams Belang, which came in second in the north of the country (Flanders), intends to contest this appointment before the Council of State.
At this stage, Ursula von der Leyen has 14 male candidates (including 5 outgoing Commissioners) and 9 female candidates (including 3 outgoing Commissioners), not counting herself. Portugal and Romania submitted a double nomination consisting of one woman and one man.
The appointment of Didier Reynders by Belgium will not therefore help the President-elect achieve her parity objective.
In June, Mr Reynders lost the race for Secretariat-General of the Council of Europe, finally won by the Croatian Marija Pejčinović Burić (see EUROPE 12284/23). (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)