After discussing her plan for the 2024-2029 College with the presidents of the political groups in the European Parliament without associating names with portfolios, the President-elect of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, presented her team to the press on Tuesday 17 September.
This College is designed to reflect the fundamental priorities of the next mandate: prosperity, security and democracy. “The backdrop is competitiveness in the twin transition” (green and digital), she said, promising that the whole College would be committed to competitiveness (see other news).
In addition, finished the multiple layers of power, the President retains only the Executive Vice-Presidents in addition to the Commissioners. “As the treaty says, each Member of the College is equal – and each Commissioner has an equal responsibility to deliver on our priorities. That means that all Commissioners must work together”, emphasised Ms von der Leyen. Each Executive Vice-President will also have a portfolio to focus on, for which they will have to work with other Commissioners.
The Chair is therefore calling for a more egalitarian commission, but one that will also enable her to keep a firm grip on all the issues.
In the mission letters sent to the nominated candidates, Ms von der Leyen insisted on collegiality. “Political Guidelines are not standalone areas of work, they are all connected and they will all impact each other. The same will be true for the work of the College as a whole and for each of its Members working together in a spirit of collegiality. I expect every member of the College to take full ownership of what is agreed”, warns Ms von der Leyen in her mission statement.
See the mission letters: https://aeur.eu/f/dgh
For Mr von der Leyen, having Commissioners who oppose her decisions or statements is out of the question, as was the case with Thierry Breton and Josep Borrell. “We have Ursula Jupiter”, joked Raphaël Glucksman (S&D, French).
In addition, Commissioners will be “invited” every six months to a “structured reporting” meeting to discuss progress and challenges in fulfilling their remit. A departure from the first ‘von der Leyen’ Commission.
Six Executive Vice-Presidents. The President-elect has decided to propose six Executive Vice-Presidents, whose portfolios reflect the priorities of the future College. Although women are in the minority in the ‘von der Leyen II’ Commission – 11 out of 27 – four of them will hold such a post, including the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas (Renew Europe, Estonian).
In addition, Spain’s Teresa Ribera (S&D) could become ‘Executive Vice-President for Clean, Fair and Competitive Transition’ and would also be responsible for Competition Policy.
Henna Virkkunen, a Finnish national (EPP), would be responsible for ‘Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy’. She will also be responsible for the Digital and Advanced Tech portfolio.
Romania’s Roxana Mînzatu (S&D) is proposed for the post of Executive Vice-President responsible for People, Skills and Preparedness, and is also expected to have the portfolio of Skills, Education and Culture, Quality Employment and Social Rights. “This is under the umbrella of demography”, explained Ms von der Leyen.
While the president of the S&D group, Iratxe García Pérez, welcomed the fact that the Executive Vice-President responsible for the social and employment pillar came from her ranks, the French S&D delegation, like The Left group, publicly regretted that there was no real ‘social and employment’ portfolio (see other news).
Last-minute candidate for France (see EUROPE 13483/1), Stéphane Séjourné (Renew Europe) is set to become Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy. He will also be responsible for the Industry, SMEs and Single Market portfolio.
Finally, Italy’s Raffaele Fitto (ECR) could become Executive Vice-President responsible for Cohesion and Reforms. He would be responsible for the portfolio of cohesion policy, regional development and cities. MEPs from the S&D and Greens/EFA groups questioned giving this position to a member of the ECR, as Italian conservatives did not support Ms von der Leyen’s candidacy for re-election as President of the European Commission. The President of the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament, French Valerie Hayer, also regretted “this political choice made by Ursula von der Leyen, despite our warnings”.
Questioned on the subject, Ms von der Leyen stressed the importance of the balance of political parties within the executive vice-presidencies and recalled the “extensive experience” of Mr Fitto, the current Minister for European Affairs, Southern Italy, Cohesion Policy and the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience, “to help modernise and strengthen our cohesion, investment and growth policies”.
She also pointed out that the European Parliament itself had two Vice-Presidents out of 14 from the ECR group. “I think that learning from the composition of the European Parliament and (transposing it to) the composition of the European Commission is an intelligent way forward”, added Ms von der Leyen.
Economy/Trade. For their part, the current Vice-Presidents of the European Commission, Slovakia’s Maroš Šefčovič (NI) and Latvia’s Valdis Dombrovskis (EPP), are set to become ‘ordinary’ Commissioners once again. The former is expected to be given a double-hatted post with responsibility for Trade and Economic Security, including Customs Policy and Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency. For this second position, he will report directly to Ms von der Leyen.
Mr Dombrovskis, who was once considered for the Enlargement portfolio, is expected to inherit not only the Economy and Productivity portfolio, but also the Implementation and Simplification portfolio. Once again, for this second portfolio, he will report directly to Ms von der Leyen.
The Financial Services and Savings and Investments Union portfolio should go to Portugal’s Maria Luís Albuquerque (EPP). “This will be vital to strengthen and complete our Capital Markets Union and ensure that private investment powers our productivity and innovation”, said Ms von der Leyen.
Ekaterina Zaharieva (Bulgarian, EPP) could become Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, and will ensure, according to Ms von der Leyen, “that we invest more and focus our spending on strategic priorities and on groundbreaking innovations”.
Speaking to the press, Ms von der Leyen revealed that at least 20 Member States wanted an economic portfolio and that choices had needed to be made.
Foreign Affairs/Defence. The Croatian Dubravka Šuica (EPP) will be responsible for the Mediterranean, a new portfolio. She will also be responsible for the wider southern neighbourhood. The aim will be to create a ‘New Pact for the Mediterranean’ which should work on “building comprehensive global partnerships focused on investment, economic stability, jobs, energy, transport, security, migration and other areas of mutual interest”, according to her mission statement.
Although the national nomination procedure is still underway, the President has nevertheless announced Marta Kos (Renew Europe) for the post of Commissioner for Enlargement, also responsible for the Eastern Neighbourhood and Support for Ukraine, including the continuation of reconstruction work.
Jozef Síkela (Czech, EPP) is to be the Commissioner for International Partnerships (see other news). He will lead work on the Global Gateway and ensure that the EU develops “mutually beneficial partnerships which invest in a common future”.
Finally, Lithuanian MEP Andrius Kubilius (EPP) could take up the post of Commissioner for Defence and Space. “He will work on developing the European Defence Union and boosting our investment and industrial capacity”, said Ms von der Leyen, who had promised Parliament a Defence Commissioner.
Climate/environment/energy/transport. The current Commissioner for Climate Action, Dutchman Wopke Hoekstra (EPP), is set to inherit the Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth portfolio. He will also be responsible for Taxation.
Jessika Roswall (EPP, Swedish) is expected to have the Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy portfolio.
Dan Jørgensen (S&D) is set to inherit the post of Commissioner for Energy and Housing. “His work will help to bring down energy prices, invest in clean energy and ensure that we cut our dependencies”, said Ms von der Leyen, who had promised the S&D a Commissioner for Housing.
The portfolio for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, including the mobility of goods and people, should go to the Greece’s Apostolos Tzitzikostas (EPP).
Agriculture/Fisheries/Health. Luxembourg’s Christophe Hansen (EPP) is expected to be the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, while the Cypriot, Costas Kadis (EPP), could become Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans. According to Ms von der Leyen, the aim is to build a resilient, competitive and sustainable sector, and to present the first ‘European Ocean Pact’.
Hungary’s Oliver Várhelyi (PfE) is set to inherit the Animal Health and Welfare portfolio. “He will be responsible for building the European Health Union and continuing the work on beating cancer and on preventive health”, according to Ms von der Leyen.
Home affairs/Fundamental rights. Austrian Magnus Brunner (EPP) is expected to be the Commissioners for Internal Affairs and Migration. As well as implementing the ‘Pact on Migration and Asylum’, he will also focus on strengthening our borders and developing a new internal security strategy.
The Democracy, Justice and Rule of Law portfolio should go to Ireland’s Michael McGrath (Renew Europe). He will have to take forward the ‘European Shield for Democracy’, lead our work on the Rule of law, anti-corruption and consumer protection.
Budget/crisis management/EYCS. The Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration portfolio should go to Poland’s Piotr Serafin (EPP), who will report directly to the President of the Commission. As well as preparing the next long-term budget, he will have to ensure that the Commission has a modern institution that delivers for Europeans.
Belgian Hadja Lahbib (Renew Europe) could become the Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management. This new portfolio will focus on resilience, preparedness and civil protection.
Finally, the Maltese Glenn Micallef (S&D) is set to take up the post of Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Culture, Youth and Sport.
The next step: examine conflicts of interest. Once the European Parliament has received all the official documents required by the procedure, candidates will be examined for possible conflicts of interest, after analysing their declaration of interests.
They will then face hearings by MEPs, which could prove fatal for some. “Now is the time. We will be constructive, but demanding in the hearings of the Commissioners”, warned Valérie Hayer.
While Ms von der Leyen reiterated that being a Commissioner did not mean being a technical expert in detail, but a political leader, Christophe Clergeau (S&D, French) pointed out that it would not only be a question of assessing “the skills or compliance with the rules of the candidates, but also of talking politics”.
Olivér Várhelyi is already in the hot seat. “Nobody wants this Hungarian, he’s not going to survive the hearings”, one MEP has already predicted. The French delegation of the Renew Europe group has already announced that it will not support him.
In the meantime, the Commissioners-designate will be welcomed by Ms von der Leyen on the afternoon of Wednesday 18 September at the European Commission in Brussels, so that they can meet each other. “This meeting will kick off preparations for the confirmation process”, said European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer on X. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Léa Marchal)