Before taking a break to spend some time with her family, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will ask EU national governments to send in the names of their “choices” for the next group of commissioners. However, as emerges from an article by Politico, in many cases, and for various reasons, the selection of the next European Commissioners is a “puzzle for strong solvers”.

Each country has a commissioner. Von der Leyen is Germany’s choice, and Kaja Kalas, backed by EU leaders to be the next foreign policy chief, will be Estonia’s representative (the foreign policy chief is appointed by the European Council, but is vice-president of the Commission ). Von der Leyen asks each member state to present to her the names of one man and one woman, except in cases where the commissioner does not change.

Who will be the next commissioners of Europe?

The president of the European Commission will receive nominations for potential members of the next EU executive from all 27 countries. Each country will have a commissioner. Click on each country on Politico’s map for details:

Who’s left?

Several governments have chosen to avoid a nasty infighting by keeping their current face at Palais Berlaymont, the Commission’s headquarters. Besides, their experience and personal relationship with von der Leyen could help build a better portfolio. Maros Šefković (Slovakia) and Valdis Dombrovskis (Latvia), for example, known as two steady hands, will add another five years at the European Commission to their CV. The same probably applies to Dubravka Suica (Croatia), although it has not yet been officially proposed by its government. Dutch commissioner Boepke Hoekstra joined the European Commission in October as a replacement for climate czar Frans Timmermans and is returning for another five years, even though his party is not in the Dutch government. It is not yet clear whether the French and Greek leaders (ss Macron and Mitsotakis) will decide to keep their current commissioners, Thierry Breton and Margariti Schina.

What new names should we learn to…pronounce starting today?

A growing number of countries have started to put forward names, even before the Commission president sent her formal request. Spain is hoping to secure the energy and climate portfolio for Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera. Sweden is sending EU Minister Jessica Roswall, Finland is sending MEP Hena Virkunen, Slovenia is sending former Court of Auditors president Tomas Wessel, Ireland has nominated Finance Minister Michael McGrath and the Czech Republic has nominated Industry and Trade Minister Jožef Šikela. .

The commissioners for more than 12 countries are “missing”…

Many of the pieces of the puzzle have remained empty, despite the fact that… rumors are “working overtime” in Brussels. More and more countries will announce their proposals in the coming weeks.

So far, no one has publicly presented two candidates, as requested. But European leaders are well aware that von der Leyen is seeking another gender-balanced Commission. In some cases, there will be behind-the-scenes haggling over names and portfolios before anything is officially announced, to avoid political damage to a candidate who might be rejected.

In other cases, there are internal conflicts over the nomination. In Lithuania, the prime minister and the president are openly fighting over the candidate. In Poland there is a tug-of-war behind closed doors. Other countries, such as Bulgaria and Belgium, are in the midst of forming new governments, making the decision on the name difficult.

What are the “big prizes” of the Commission?

It’s no secret that France envisions an economic “super portfolio” to help drive the bloc’s industrial agenda in the face of competition from
the US and China — potentially overseeing areas where Brussels has power: trade and competition. But Italy is also eyeing this role. A crucial question is whether von der Leyen will decide to keep far-right leader Giorgia Meloni “close” with a top job for an Italian from her camp, or leave her with the most symbolic new Mediterranean portfolio.

The position of enlargement commissioner will be a top-level portfolio, because the negotiations to expand the EU to include Ukraine will be one of the Commission’s most sensitive political issues.

Commissioner for Agriculture is also a portfolio of great importance given the EU’s outsized role in agriculture and food. It is also a post that reveals how difficult it is to build a politically balanced Commission.

What are the ‘exciting new jobs’ on offer?

Von der Leyen will seek a commissioner for the Mediterranean, which sounds idyllic but is probably a “hard-core” job looking at migration and the poor security situation in the Middle East and North Africa. Cyprus has expressed interest in this portfolio from the beginning.

There is also the prospect of a Defense Commissioner, which caused early excitement until the candidates realized how little power the EU has in this area. Speculation briefly centered on Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, until he ruled it out. Poland is also sometimes mentioned as a possible candidate for the enlargement slot, given Warsaw’s support for Kiev, but the role could cause serious problems domestically, with Polish farmers less enthusiastic about its integration. huge agricultural sector of Ukraine in the EU.

Who gets which portfolio?

That depends on von der Leyen. It must take into account gender balance, political party balance and geographical balance. European leaders, in exchange for their support for the German politician in the European Council, are haggling over portfolios, hoping to secure a strong position. It will be a challenge to find enough women, so countries that nominate a female candidate have an advantage over those that send a man. Von der Leyen has also made it very clear to leaders that she wants experienced and capable Commissioners, ideally with some previous executive experience in their home countries.

What happens after nominations are submitted?

European capitals have until the end of August to send their candidates. Von der Leyen will start interviewing the (new) candidates from mid-August and then start putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. After all, she was the first to create a gender-balanced European Commission in 2019, and she wants to do it again this time, which is why she is asking leaders to send a candidate from each gender.
Once von der Leyen’s work is complete, the European Parliament will put the new Commissioners through hearings to be held in late September and October. Parliament can reject candidates and likes to make a “show of force”, often doing just that. In such a scenario, the country whose commissioner was rejected should nominate a new candidate. In 2019, the initial selections of commissioners from France, Romania and Hungary were thrown into the dustbin.

The hope of EU officials is to have the composition of the new European Commission finalized by November 1.