On Tuesday, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, announced the list of nominees for the new European Commission during a press conference in Strasbourg, France.
Teresa Ribera, the Deputy Prime Minister of Spain, has been nominated as the new EU Commissioner for Competition Policy, while Kaja Kallas, the Prime Minister of Estonia, will be in charge of foreign policy.
Ribera, who also serves as Spain’s Minister for Ecological Transition, is set to replace Margrethe Vestager, a Danish national who has held the position of EU Commissioner for Competition Policy for two consecutive terms. Vestager is known for intensifying the regulation of big tech companies to enhance competition in the market.
Ribera will also oversee the EU’s stance on foreign government subsidies, particularly in critical sectors like electric cars and energy production, where businesses are striving to defend their commercial models against competition from abroad, especially from China.
Additionally, Andrius Kubilius, the Prime Minister of Lithuania, has been nominated as the EU’s first Defense Commissioner. This new role aims to address Russia’s aggression on the eastern flank of Europe and to strengthen the military manufacturing capabilities of the EU.
Other candidates on the list for the next European Commission include Stephane Sejourne, the French Minister of Industry Strategy, and Maros Sefcovic, the Slovak Minister of Trade Policy.
The line-up for the next European Commission witnessed a dramatic turn on Monday when Thierry Breton, the current French EU Commissioner for Internal Market, abruptly resigned.
Subsequently, Breton posted his resignation letter on the social platform X, accusing von der Leyen of pressuring the French government to withdraw his nomination. France then selected Sejourne as the new candidate.
The European Union, composed of 27 European countries, is an economic and political alliance. The European Commission is the legislative proposing and implementing body of the EU.
Each EU member state has a seat in the European Commission, functioning like government ministers; however, their political weight varies depending on the position.
All nominated candidates will undergo hearings by EU Parliament members and require their endorsement. The next European Commission is expected to take office by the end of this year.
In the summer, von der Leyen secured a majority of seats in the EU elections. Over the next five years, she will continue to serve as the head of the EU executive body.
Von der Leyen stated that compared to her first five-year term, “security issues stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict and competitiveness issues had a significant impact on the formation and design of the new team.”
She emphasized that the new Commission will prioritize prosperity, security, and democracy, along with the competitiveness essential for green transformation and digitalization.
(Reference: Reuters)