Von der Leyen to name new European Commission top team Reuters

By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is to award jobs in the EU’s executive body on Tuesday, confirming country representatives who will gain strong roles on trade, competition and the environmental agenda.

The Commission is the most powerful institution in the 27 countries of the European Union. It has the power to propose new EU laws, block mergers between companies and sign free trade agreements.

Each EU member state will have a seat at the Commission table, a role comparable to that of a government minister, although its political weight varies greatly depending on the portfolio.

Among the strongest are the briefs on trade and competition, as well as areas such as energy and the EU internal market, where EU laws substantially affect businesses and consumers across Europe.

The next EU Commission is expected to take office by the end of the year, which means one of its first tasks will be to report on the outcome of the US presidential election in November.

A second Trump presidency could drastically alter Western unity by supporting Ukraine against Russian invasion and the EU’s trade relations with the world’s largest economy.

Other challenges for the next EU Commission include addressing the ailing competitiveness of European industries as competition intensifies with China to manufacture green technologies such as electric cars.

There was drama over the make-up of the next Commission on Monday, when France chose Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne as its new candidate after incumbent Thierry Breton abruptly resigned with harsh words for von der Leyen.

Spain’s candidate for the Commission, Green Transition Minister Teresa Ribera, is in the running for a top job, according to EU officials.

Polish candidate Piotr Serafin is set for a powerful job overseeing the EU budget, while Lithuania’s Andrius Kubilius will become the EU’s first defense commissioner – a new role aimed at building up European military production capacity in the face of Russian aggression on Europe’s eastern flank . .

However, last minute internal negotiations could reshuffle these jobs.

Complicating the situation is that most EU governments have ignored von der Leyen’s request to send both a man and a woman to achieve a gender-balanced EU executive.

Currently, EU countries have nominated 17 men and 10 women – an improvement on a few weeks ago, but still far from equal representation.

Each new commissioner will have to pass a hearing in the European Parliament, expected in the coming weeks, where EU lawmakers will try to extract promises from the candidates about what they will deliver if they get the job.

EU Parliament may block Commission nominees – with Hungary’s Oliver Varhelyi among the candidates EU officials expect to be under pressure during his hearing.