Having made it through the final hurdles of horse-trading with capitals around the European Union, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled on Tuesday from Strasbourg the lineup of College of Commissioners for her second mandate. Her centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) got the lion's share — 15 out of 27, including herself.
The Commissioners-designate are nominated by each EU members state. Von der Leyen assigns them their roles in her cabinet. Despite her efforts to reach gender parity, the current balance is 60-40 in favour of men. It would have been even more male dominant if not for Von der Leyen's offer to some capitals of a heftier portfolio in exchange for a female candidate.
The Baltics are in the driver's seat on all foreign and defence-related aspects – a clear message to the Kremlin. Her native Germany aside, Von der Leyen has brought representatives of the EU's three major countries — France, Italy and Spain — into her inner circle. Each is slated to get an executive vice-presidency, in addition to Finland, Romania and Estonia. With deputy roles scrapped, the executive vice presidents will coordinate the portfolios of fellow commissioners.
The new team is economics heavy, and many of its members have fiscally conservative positions. Each commissioner will get to manage at least one directorate-general — a branch of the executive’s administrative structure, as specified in brackets below.
Assuming the Commissioners-designate clear a financial interests check, each will face questioning by MEPs in hearings before the relevant parliamentary committee in European Parliament. From that stage, the College as a whole must be voted on by the plenary. The new Commission is trying to make that happen by 1 November, ahead of the US presidential election, but it already looks like Von der Leyen won't have her team up and running until at least a month later.
It is not uncommon for the EP to shoot down at least one of the candidates, as a show of strength. In 2019, MEPs vetoed three of them — one from each political family.
In her mission letters, Von der Leyen identified key priorities for her squad. We had a first look, so you don’t have to.
Executive vice presidents
Teresa Ribera Rodríguez (Spain, S&D), Clean, Just and Competitive Transition [DG COMP]: The Green Deal stays on as a pillar of the EU’s growth strategy, Von der Leyen has said, but alongside new priorities such as security and competitiveness. As the College's most prominent leftist politician, Ribera would be responsible for some of the green transition — essentially continuing at the EU level the job she has in Spain. That will require her to work, and compromise, with centre-right colleagues tasked with climate and environment. To sweeten the deal, she would take over for Margrethe Vestager as the next EU’s top antitrust and state-aid enforcer, which is one of the most coveted of commissioner jobs.
Henna Virkkunen (Finland, EPP), Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy [DG CNECT, DIGIT]: A senior EU lawmaker, Virkkunen would be the EU digital czar, taking the lead on AI and other cutting-edge innovation such as supercomputing, the Internet of Things and genomics. Additionally, she would oversee the work of commissioners responsible for a thematical cluster bundling EU borders and democratic governance.
Stéphane Séjourné (France, Renew Europe), Prosperity and Industrial Strategy [DG GROW]: Paris can claim it got (almost) what it wanted by changing horses last minute, when Internal Markets Commissioner and Von der Leyen critic, Thierry Breton, resigned. In this role, the French Commissioner would take charge of a wide-ranging industrial and competitiveness portfolio overseeing all other economic dossiers. That would not include digital and defence, in a blow to the country’s aspirations. Séjourné has served until now as France's foreign and EU affairs minister and is the head of the centrist Renaissance party, making him a close ally of Emmanuel Macron.
Roxana Mînzatu (Romania, S&D), People, Skills and Preparedness [DG EMPL, DG EAC]: The role would put her in charge of the EU’s human capital and “those areas which are crucial to unite our society,” Von der Leyen said. Minzatu's fellow leftists, however, have expressed concern that the portfolio does not explicitly cover jobs, social affairs and education. A former rookie minister at the national level and MEP, Mînzatu is relatively unknown in Brussels. She would lead the work on a “new culture of preparedness that can help people adapt to change and to risks that exist in our society,” Von der Leyen's letter read, together with Commissioner-designate Hadja Lahbib from Belgium.
Raffaele Fitto (Italy, ECR), Cohesion and Reforms [DG REGIO]: It is the first time a hard-right conservative has been awarded a major EU position while not being part of the EU’s political majority. A former ECR chief in the EP and a key ally of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Fitto would move from managing Italy's €194 billion post-pandemic cash fund to seeing that the whole of the EU's Covid recovery plan makes it to the finish line, in collaboration with Valdis Dombrovskis from Latvia. His job would be to steer the cohesion and regional funds budget, a second-ranking position considered politically uncontroversial.
Kaja Kallas (Estonia, Renew Europe), High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy [EEAS]: The former Prime Minister of Estonia is almost surely the EU’s next top diplomat. She would be taking over in an era of “geostrategic rivalries,” confronting war, increased global tensions, a new arms race, and transatlantic uncertainty as the presidential election looms in the US.
Commissioners
Valdis Dombrovskis (Latvia, EPP), Economy and Productivity; Implementation and Simplification [DG ECFIN, EUROSTAT]: The former Latvian Prime Minister would take on the powerful role of the bloc's economy chief. A solid reputation as a fiscal hawk, Dombrovskis would be the mastermind behind the bloc’s economic governance and countries’ public spending. He would also wear a second hat that is dear to the centre-right — Commissioner for Bureaucratic Simplification, reporting direclty to Von der Leyen.
Maroš Šefčovič (Slovakia, S&D until his party, Smer, was expelled when the far right joined the national government), Trade and Economic Security; Interinstitutional Affairs and Transparency [DG TRADE]: A veteran of the bloc’s executive but lacking political backing in the EP, Von der Leyen rewarded him with not one but two heavy portfolios. Taking on economic security in addition to open trade relations, he would have to negotiate with partners and rivals like the US and China, as well as India. He will continue leading post-Brexit relations with the United Kingdom.
Piotr Serafin (Poland, EPP), Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration [DG BUDG and others]: The current acting Polish ambassador to the EU is a Brussels insider, having served as chief of staff to Donald Tusk when he was head of the European Council. Tusk, now the Polish PM, was an early supporter of Von der Leyen's second term. In return, he secured for Serafin the powerful budget portfolio, as the bloc gets ready for a new seven-year financial framework (MFF), coming in 2028.
Maria Luís Albuquerque (Portugal, EPP), Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union [DG FISMA]: The former Portuguese finance minister and long-time commissioner hopeful, Albuquerque is on track to getting a mission quasi-impossible: Convincing the bloc’s members to better integrate their capital markets. This would hope to channel more private assets towards funding the enormous investment needs of the green and digital transitions.
Wopke Hoekstra (The Netherlands, EPP) Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth; Taxation [DG CLIMA, DG TAXUD]: The Dutchman returns to the College as the main counterbalance the new green czar, Teresa Ribera. His presence would see to making good on an EPP pledge ahead of June EP elections that the green transition serves as the bloc’s industrial growth plan. A fiscal hawk, he would separately get the keys to EU taxation machinery, which typically needs unanimity among EU member states.
Jessika Roswall (Sweden, EPP) Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy: The former Swedish EU affairs minister would be the new nature boss, helping to bring the Green Deal to life through “incentives, investment and effective, simple implementation.” Von der Leyen's phrasing is another sign of EPP's pro-business dominance within the Commission. For the first time, the role will also address water efficiency, scarcity and pollution.
Costas Kadis (Cyprus, EPP), Fisheries and Oceans [DG MARE]: A biologist by training and a former minister at home, Kadis would take up a responsibility that is back as an independent portfolio. The task would have Kadis oversee fishing quota management, aquaculture and the blue economy overall. The portfolio is also responsible for developing the EU's first European Oceans Plan.
Michael McGrath (Ireland, Renew Europe), Democracy, Justice, and the Rule of Law [DG JUST]: The outgoing Irish finance minister would have a finger on the EU budget, since unlocking EU funds are dependent on respect for democratic standards, judicial independence, media freedom, and institutional checks and balances — so get ready for clashes with Hungary. McGrath would also have to contend with disinformation, safeguarding electoral integrity, and protecting citizens’ data and consumer rights.
Magnus Brunner (Austria, EPP), Internal Affairs and Migration [DG HOME]: Known in European circles for being a fiscal hawk, Brunner may soon be tested in the most sensitive policy area outside of economics. Brunner would come into the role overseeing migration just as his home country heads into elections with the far-right surging in the polls. Vienna has an outspoken record on migration and border security, having blocked the full participation of Bulgaria and Romania in the free movement Schengen Area and facing legal condemnation by the European Court of Justice for extending border checks.
Dubravka Šuica (Croatia, EPP), Mediterranean [future DG MED]: This is a brand-new portfolio, tasked with reaching out to countries around the Mediterranean and the EU's “southern neighbourhood.” This would entail developing ties in trade, energy, investments and to rein in irregular migration. Unlike other first-time gigs, Šuica will have a brand-new administrative branch at her service.
Andrius Kubilius (Lithuania, EPP) Defence and Space [DG DEFIS]: A two-time prime minister, Kubilius consolidated his reputation as a Russian hawk in the European Parliament. As the first-ever EU Defence and Space Commissioner, he would be charged with stepping up production capacity of the bloc's military-industrial complex and securing more joint procurement of military equipment. He would also have to take on major common projects such as the planned European Sky Shield, which would function like Israel’s Iron Dome.
Marta Kos (Slovenia, Renew Europe, but still not officially nominated by her country), Enlargement [DG NEAR]: A former diplomat, Kos would take the reins of accession negotiations at a time when the EU has renewed its push for enlargement. Many of the EU candidate countries hail from her Balkan region. She would also be responsible for the reconstruction of Ukraine and relations with the South Caucasus and Turkey.
Jozef Síkela (Czech Republic, EPP) International Partnership [DG INTPA]: A former energy minister who said he convened “as many Council meetings as necessary” when his country held the rotating presidency during the peak of the energy crisis in 2022, Síkela was up for a number of roles. He ended up with international partnerships, which Von der Leyen said combines bits and pieces of the other portfolios he was in the running for. Síkela would be the main contact point for the €300 billion investment programme for foreign development aid known as Global Gateway.
Dan Jørgensen (Denmark, S&D), Energy and Housing [DG ENER]: The socialists secured a commissioner tasked with housing, though to their displeasure it is combined with energy rather than the social aspects they wanted. As climate minister at home, Jørgensen is not known for pro-nuclear views, but his EU role would take on the question of small modular reactors as they are developed and deployed in the EU.
Hadja Lahbib (Belgium, Renew Europe), Preparedness and Crisis Management; Equality [DG ECHO]: A former TV journalist, the outgoing Belgian minister for EU and foreign affairs consolidated her international profile during the first half of this year, as her country steered the EU Council’s rotating presidency. Yet this did not translate into a major Commission role. Instead, she would oversee relatively minor policy areas such as humanitarian aid and civil protection. She would also steer equality issues, which covers LGBTIQ, gender, anti-racism and disability strategies.
Apostolos Tzitzikostas (Greece, EPP), Sustainable Transport and Tourism [DG MOVE]: The governor of the central Macedonian region in Greece is a prominent figure within his country’s centre-right camp and has a solid EU-wide reputation, having served as president of the European Committees of the Regions between 2020 and 2022. Among the brand-new touristic tasks, Tzitzikostas would work on a single digital ticketing platform for passengers across transport modes.
Christophe Hansen (Luxembourg, EPP) Agriculture and Food [DG AGRI]: Coming from one of the smallest EU member states with limited arable land, the current MEP would have to rebuild trust with farmers after months of angry tractor protests. His focus would be ensuring sufficient income for farmers and protection against unfair trade practices, as well as upholding the biggest share of the EU’s budget — the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Part of the economic security agenda, Hansen would also deal with food sovereignty, boosting diversity and reducing imports of critical commodities.
Olivér Várhelyi (Hungary, Patriots for Europe), Health and Animal Welfare [DG SANTE]: An ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Várhelyi was taken off his current role in charge of the weighty Enlargement and Neighbourhood portfolio and moved to the responsibility nobody seemed to want: health. The title has been revised to make animal welfare explicit, while the bulk of food policy tasks has moved to agriculture. Once caught on a hot mic calling MEPs “idiots,” his parliamentary hearing is not one to miss.
Ekaterina Zaharieva (Bulgaria, EPP), Startups, Research and Innovation [DG RTD]: A former foreign affairs minister, Zaharieva would inherit the research and innovation bit from her fellow countrywoman and predecessor, which includes the hefty Horizon Europe funding scheme. Other parts of the portfolio, namely education and culture, go to other colleagues.
Glenn Micallef (Malta, S&D) Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport [DG EAC]: The youngest of the Commissioners-designate and the only one without prior experience in a senior government role, the 35-year-old former chief of staff to Prime Minister Robert Abela got one of the seemingly lightest portfolios. Nonetheless, it would commit him to work on “areas that are close to EU citizens’ daily lives.”