Brussels – The candidate commissioners are competing in the new college that will again be led by Ursula von der Leyen kicked offWith just a few weeks to go before the start of individual interviews between the President-elect and the potential members of the second von der Leyen Commission, documents from nine Member States are already on the table: two of them are certain (Germany and Estonia), and seven others still need to be checked by the President of the EU Executive Committee and, together with the full College of Commissioners, by the 720 MEPs before the official installation.

In addition to Germanywhich will express the Presidency of the Commission with Ursula von der LeyenAnd Estoniawhere the former prime minister Kaja Kallas become the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy – ​​both appointments fall under the responsibility of the European Council, which took a decision at the EU Leaders’ Summit on 27 June – since the weeks following the European elections in early June until today, the official appointments of the governments of Slovakia, Latvia, Slovenia, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, And The Netherlands. However, at this stage none of the proposals from the seven governments (Germany and Estonia being the exceptions) meet the request that President von der Leyen made to the European Parliament within minutes of her confirmation on Thursday (18 July), just as in 2019: “In the coming weeks, I will ask the Member States to nominate candidate Commissioners, one man and one woman.,,for individual interviews “mid-August.” However, the other standard for the new College cannot be lifted: “I want to choose the best who share the European stake, and in terms of numbers there will be equality between men and women”, Von der Leyen made clear.

As for the names that have come in so far, Slovakia has re-nominated the outgoing Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, responsible for Interinstitutional Relations and the Green Deal, Maroš Šefčovicwho was thus able to serve his fourth consecutive term. Latvia for the third time in a row, the outgoing Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, responsible for the economy, has been nominated, Valdis Dombrovskis. On the other hand, Slovenia proposed a new name, lawyer and economist Tomaž Vesel, former president of the National Audit Office and FIFA’s Audit and Compliance Committee. For Ireland, there is the centre-right Fianna Fáil and former Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2020-2022) and Finance (2022-2024), Michael McGrathThe government of Sweden decided to bet on the Minister of European Affairs, Jessica Roswall. Finland nominated as a Member of the European Parliament in the ranks of the European People’s Party since 2014, Henna PeriwinkleLast in chronological order is the nomination by the new right-wing government of the The Netherlands from the outgoing European Commissioner for Climate Action, Wopke Hoekstranominated yesterday (July 23) for a new role in the second von der Leyen cabinet.

The right-wing government of Italy presided by Giorgia Meloni has not yet announced the official candidate, nor has it announced when it will announce it. However, in an exclusive interview with Eunews, the main delegation of Forza Italia to the European Parliament, Fulvio Martusciellosaid: “TThe commissioner should be Minister Raffaele Fitto. We have already discussed it extensively, and it will be him.” Fitto is currently Minister of European Affairs, Cohesion Policy and the NRRP of Fratelli d’Italia, the main partner in the governing coalition with Forza Italia and the Liga that took office on 22 October 2022. He held the office of Member of the European Parliament between 1999 and 2000 and between 2014 and 2022 (since 2019 he was co-chair of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group), was Governor of the Puglia Region between 2000 and 2005 and Minister for Regions and Territorial Cohesion between 2008 and 2011 in the last government led by Silvio Berlusconi.

The nomination and election of candidates for the position of Commissioner

According to the EU treaties, there are European Commissioners – one from each Member State – are appointed in consultation between the Presidency of the European Commission and the Member Stateswho recommend them on the basis of “general competence”, “European commitment” and “guarantees of independence”. The Council of the European Union adopts the list of Commissioners who must also pass the vote in the European Parliament. It is not only the political composition of the government that nominates its candidate that is at stake, but also the majority that underpins the Commission in the European Parliament. In other words, a government that is not balanced with the right will not be able to ignore the fact that it must also benefit from the approval of the centre-left: This is the case, for example, for the Meloni government, which will have to look for a name that can bear the Democratic Partywhich in the new legislature forms the largest delegation within the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) faction.

Putting together the new team of European Commissioners means striking a delicate balance with the 26 national governments (minus Germany) to agree on the role and portfolio to be allocatedIf von der Leyen can quickly reach a compromise on the Council’s approval of the list of names submitted to Parliament, it could lead to hearings as early as September and October: Each parliamentary committee will assess the candidates with written questions and in public hearings, each based on its area of ​​expertise. Finally, the Conference of Presidents will have to draw up a draft resolution to be voted on by all 720 MEPs (eyes on the mini-plenary meeting of 13-14 November or the plenary meeting of 25-28 November) when Parliament must approve the appointment of the entire College of Commissioners by a simple majority of the votes cast. The natural start of the von der Leyen Commission’s second five-year term is scheduled for 1 December..

English version by Withub translation service