European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the new members of her Commission on September 17 in Strasbourg. This institution is the most decisive in the European Union: among its responsibilities, that of proposing new community laws, blocking mergers between companies and signing free trade agreements. Each EU member state has obtained a seat in the stable that will support the German leader. The commissioners have a role comparable to that of a government minister, but the political weight varies greatly depending on the portfolio.
In addition to the appointment of Raffaele Fitto as Vice President in charge of the Cohesion and Reforms portfolio, here are the most important profiles indicated during the plenary by von der Leyen.
Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas (Estonia) – Foreign Affairs and Security
The appointment of Kaja Kallas was the only certain one, having already obtained the post last July. Having become Prime Minister of Estonia in 2021, Kaja Kallas (47 years old) inherited the legacy of her father Siim Kallas, former head of the central bank of independent Estonia. To win the appointment as EU High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas has shown that she is not just a “daughter of art”, but a very determined politician and diplomat. A member of the liberal Estonian Reform Party, during her government she had already alerted European leaders of a possible attack by Vladimir Putin against Ukraine before February 2022. When the assumptions materialized, she pushed to strengthen the EU’s external defenses, first of all to defend her small country (just 1.2 million inhabitants) from Moscow’s ambitions. She takes the place of Josep Borrell, with whom von der Leyen has not had idyllic relations.
Teresa Ribera (Spain) – Commissioner for Competition
The Spanish Minister for Technological Transition Teresa Ribera, a staunch supporter of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, will take on the portfolio of competition and will be Executive Vice President for Clean, Fair and Competitive Transition. Initially, there was talk of a transversal role for her, with responsibilities for the environment, digital and social issues, then the attribution of a much higher profile such as that of competition, which will see her as a protagonist in this second mandate of von der Leyen. Ribera takes over from Denmark’s Margrethe Vestager, who in recent years has increased pressure on Big Tech to allow fair competition on their platforms.
Andrius Kubilius (Lithuania) – Defense
The sensitive subject of Defense, with the war in Ukraine at the door and tensions in the Middle East that do not slow down, has been assigned to Lithuanian Andrius Kubilius. This is the first time in the history of the EU that this role has been assigned, demonstrating how important it is at this time for the 27 of the bloc to strengthen the European military production capacity in the face of Russian aggression on the eastern flank of Europe. Kubilius is a member of the conservative party Fatherland Union – Christian Democrats of Lithuania, which adheres to the European People’s Party. In the past
He was Prime Minister of Lithuania from 1999 to 2000 and from 2008 to 2012.
Stephane Séjourné (France) – Prosperity and industrial strategy
Frenchman Stephane Séjourné has been appointed to the industrial strategy task. The name of the French commissioner proposed by Emmanuel Macron emerged last minute after the controversial resignation of Thierry Breton on September 16, now in open conflict with von der Leyen. Séjourné, a long-time member of the French president’s Renaissance party, served as head of the Renew group in the European Parliament before being appointed Foreign Minister. The Frenchman should follow, at least in part, the directions indicated by Mario Draghi last week to avoid the abyss into which European industry risks sinking. The other task will be to mend relations with the president of the Commission after the rift with Breton.
Maroš Šefcovic (Slovakia) – Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations
The Slovak politician from the Socialist Group Maroš Šefčovič is changing his clothes within the von der Leyen canvas. He is one of the most experienced members alongside von der Leyen. Former Vice-President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Energy Union under Juncker (2014-2019), during von der Leyen’s first mandate he became European Commissioner for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight. Following the departure of the Dutch Frans Timmermans, since last year he had also taken on the responsibilities for the highly controversial Green Deal.
Magnus Brunner (Austria) – Home Affairs and Migration
Austrian Finance Minister Magnus Brunner will take over the delegation for Internal Affairs and Migration. The sensitive migration dossier will therefore be handed over to a member of the EPP after five years in which it was led by Swedish Socialist Ylva Johansson. Given his vast experience in the economic sector, a financial portfolio was expected for Brunner, who will instead have the arduous task of getting the 27 to agree at a time when border closures and restrictions on freedom of movement are increasingly popular options among European governments.
These are the other names indicated by von der Leyen in her new Commission:
- Roxana Minzatu (Romania): Executive Vice President for People, Skills and Readiness
- Henna Virkkunen (Finland): Executive Vice-President for Technology Sovereignty, Security and Democracy
- Dubravka Šuica (Croatia): Mediterranean
- Hadja Lahbib (Belgium): Preparedness, crisis management, equality
- Ekaterina Zaharieva (Bulgaria): Start-ups, research and innovation
- Costas Kadis (Cyprus) Fishing and Oceans
- Jozef Síkela (Czech Republic): International Partnerships
- Dan Jørgensen (Denmark): Energy and Housing
- Apostolos Tzitzikostas (Greece): Sustainable transport and tourism
- Olivér Várhelyi (Hungary): Animal Health and Welfare
- Michael McGrath (Ireland): Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law
- Valdis Dombrovskis (Latvia): Economy and Productivity, Implementation and Simplification
- Andrius Kubilius (Lithuania): Defense and space
- Christophe Hansen (Luxembourg): Agriculture and Food
- Glenn Micallef (Malta): Intergenerational Equity, Youth, Culture and Sport
- Wopke Hoekstra (Netherlands): Climate, clean growth and net-zero goals
- Piotr Serafin (Poland): Budget, anti-fraud, public administration
- Maria Luís Albuquerque (Portugal): Financial Services
- Roxana Mînzatu (Romania): People, skills and preparation and transparency
- Marta Kos (Slovenia): Enlargement
- Jessika Roswall (Sweden): Environment, water resilience and competitive circular economy
