New European Commission
By RTL News 1 minute ago Modified: 1 minute ago
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RTL
In the new European Commission, Wopke Hoekstra will most likely get the Climate and Clean Growth portfolio. This is confirmed by sources after reporting by the Telegraaf. This week, President Von der Leyen will announce what her new Commission will look like.
The cabinet nominated Hoekstra as European Commissioner for the new European Commission in early July. Prime Minister Dick Schoof indicated at the time that the Netherlands wanted a ‘meaningful’ portfolio, preferably in the economic corner.
The task package that Hoekstra will receive meets that criterion. In the new Commission, he will be responsible for clean industry and innovation, important in the transition to a green economy. With this combined portfolio, Hoekstra will be at the table for many important decisions in the coming years.
The Commission consists of 27 members, one from each Member State. In the past, countries could nominate candidates, preferably a man and a woman. The President of the European Commission then put together her team. Countries that nominated a sitting Commissioner could make do with one candidate.
Puzzle
The composition of the new Commission is a complicated puzzle that is not easy to get right. Von der Leyen had to take all sorts of things into account: the male-female ratio has to be right, the distribution over the different political blood groups has to be in balance, as well as the north-south ratio and the east-west ratio.
Everyone is eyeing a heavy post and few countries are eager to take on less sexy portfolios like ‘Multilingualism’ or ‘Digitalisation’. But not everyone can be satisfied. And so behind the scenes, tough negotiations are taking place.
Test
The candidates that Von der Leyen proposes for her new Commission will face a serious test before they can be appointed, as the European Parliament organises hearings. It is already expected that not every commissioner-to-be will pass this test.
It is not yet known when the hearings will be held. The intention is for the new Commission to start on 1 November, but in the corridors of Brussels it is assumed that there is a good chance that it will be 1 December.
