All governments must announce their nominees to the European Commission by August 30. Economic portfolios are important pieces of the puzzle in the talks to choose the new EU commissioners
Ursula von der Leyen is facing tough negotiations to form her new College of Commissioners, with economic portfolios among the most sought-after by EU member states.
Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, the Czech Republic and Romania have all said they would stake a claim to one of these portfolios, with the budget one being a hotly contested one.
“In the next mandate we will have to negotiate the Multiannual Financial Framework. It will be a very difficult and heavy dossier, but it will also be something that will determine the priorities for the years to come,” Janis Emmanouilidis, senior policy analyst at the European Policy Center (EPC), told Euronews.
France is also in the running for a strong portfolio, having nominated Thierry Breton, the current commissioner for the internal market, who is expected to remain in Brussels for a second term.
“There is always a lot of interest in competition and trade, areas where the EU has a lot of competences,” Sophia Russack, a researcher at the Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS), told Euronews. “The same goes for those that have a particularly high impact on the budget, for example cohesion and agriculture funds, which together account for about a third of the entire EU budget,” she added.
The new portfolios up for grabs
In these power games, Ursula von der Leyen can also use Defence, a new portfolio dedicated to the military industry, considered very relevant because of the war in Ukraine.
The Mediterranean – linked to the management of migration flows – and housing will also have dedicated commissioners for the first time.
To complete the “puzzle” and appoint executive vice-presidents, the head of the centre-right Commission will also have to take into account which political parties supported her reappointment to the European Parliament in July.
“It can be assumed that even in this case – given that she comes from the EPP, the conservative party – among the top positions of the Commission there should be a socialist, a liberal and potentially a green,” Emmanouilidis said.
Italy, the third largest economy in the EU, has not yet officially indicated its candidate. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni abstained during the European Council vote to renew von der Leyen at the bloc’s executive.
The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), to which Meloni’s party, Brothers of Italy, belongs, became the fourth political group in the European Parliament and voted against confirming von der Leyen. Which portfolio Italy will get is one of the hottest topics in Brussels.
The gender issue
Another trump card to use in the negotiations with the 27 capitals is gender balance, as requested by von der Leyen whose first College achieved parity. But so far, governments have nominated fewer than 10 women to go to Brussels.
“You can argue that if the country offers a very good candidate, then you can also offer her a very interesting portfolio. There are these kinds of backroom deals that can be made to put pressure on member states. So it’s a mix of gender, political and geographical issues, a very complex deal to implement,” Emmanouilidis said.
Portugal nominated former finance minister Maria Luís Albuquerque on Wednesday, while Denmark announced a male name, Dan Jørgensen, a former climate and energy minister.
“The gender issue is also a sign of the times. The parliament itself is now composed of fewer women than in the past, not even 40 percent. But we also have to say that in some countries there are internal procedures, for example that the parliament and the president have to agree with the choice of the prime minister,” Russack said.
After receiving all the names, von der Leyen will conduct individual interviews and present the final selection to the European Parliament, which will hold hearings with the 26 candidates. If some are rejected, new names will have to be submitted until the entire team is approved in plenary.
This article is originally published on it.euronews.com
