The six candidates to become executive vice-presidents of the European Commission will appear in succession this Tuesday, November 12 before MEPs in Brussels for hearings lasting at least three hours. This is particularly the case for Frenchman Stéphane Séjourné from 2:30 p.m.
In an exchange with the MEPs who will be most concerned by his portfolio, this close friend of Emmanuel Macron will be expected because of the extent of his responsibility. In particular, he will have to coordinate the industrial strategy. A key subject facing Donald Trump’s America and Xi Jinping’s China.
Follow Stéphane Séjourné’s hearing live on video
Here is the video player where you can follow this hearing:
You will be able to select the language in which you want to follow this hearing. Candidates for the Commission often try to show that they are proficient in several languages. In the case of Stéphane Séjourné, this will include English and Spanish.
How will the audition go?
After a 15-minute introductory speech from Stéphane Séjourné, each political group in the European Parliament will ask him a series of questions, before being able to follow up again to ask for clarification. Each time, the candidate commissioner will have two or one minute to respond.
Other MEPs from the parliamentary committees concerned by Stéphane Séjourné’s portfolio will also be able to ask questions. After three hours of hearing, the commissioner will be able to make a conclusion lasting a few minutes.
Once this moment of discussion is over, the heads of the parliamentary committees meet to say whether they give the green light to the appointment of Stéphane Séjourné.
Last week, only the Hungarian commissioner, Oliver Varhely, was not convinced and was sent written questions for clarification. If these answers are still not convincing, he will have to pass a new, shorter audition before a possible green light or rejection.
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