BRUSSELS: European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen is set to unveil the line-up of her next European Commission – the EU equivalent of a cabinet – next week, after intense negotiations and squabbling over gender balance.
Von der Leyen, the first woman to be picked as commission president, won a second five-year stint at the helm of the 27-country bloc in July, securing the backing of most EU lawmakers.
She has since been busy shaping her new team, a tricky balancing act requiring her to accommodate the competing demands of different member states and political parties.
“It’s a game of power and influence,” Eric Maurice, an analyst at the European Policy Centre think tank, said of the process. Each EU country gets to nominate one person to serve on the powerful executive body.
But who gets what portfolio is always a contentious issue, with big nations jostling for influential posts, such as those in charge of key economic matters.
Von der Leyen will meet parliament leaders on Wednesday to discuss the issue before a press conference on the same day or later in the week.
Having pleased national capitals, her picks must then survive confirmation hearings in the European Parliament, where nominees are grilled by MEPs.
“They are going to want to make their voice heard,” Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at the Eurasia Group consultancy, said of lawmakers.
Parliament is usually eager to use the occasion to flex its muscles to reject some candidates, he added.
‘Tough journey’
Observers believe Hungary’s pick, current commissioner for enlargement Oliver Varhelyi, might be in for a rough hearing given his country’s long-running quarrels with Brussels over Ukraine and rule of law issues.
Reports that Raffaele Fitto, Italy’s minister for European affairs and a member of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, might get the economy vice-president job have also ruffled a few feathers.
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Centrist French MEP Valerie Hayer described the rumoured choice as “untenable”.
The gender mix has been another headache for von der Leyen.
The former German defence minister had asked member countries to give her a choice of one male and one female candidate, but the request was largely ignored.
Just nine women have been nominated to serve alongside von der Leyen in the 27-member college, including Estonian former premier Kaja Kallas as the bloc’s top diplomat.
Von der Leyen’s previous administration started off with 12 women and 15 men.
The 65-year-old has reportedly tried to pressure some nations to change their man but admitted this week it has been a “tough journey”.
Von der Leyen “is right” to push for parity even if “she may not have said it early enough and strongly enough”, said Hayer, who heads the liberal Renew Europe.
All this might stretch the process, delaying the start of the new commission, which was expected to get to work in November.
“I suspect the new team will be in place beginning in December,” said Rahman.
For the time being, as speculation mounts, Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, a MEP, said: “It’s a strange week of wait and see in Brussels.”
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