Hadja Lahbib, the Belgian candidate for the post of European Commissioner, inherits the portfolio of crisis management, humanitarian aid and civil protection. If she is confirmed in this post, she will be required to manage issues related to the war in Ukraine and the situation in Gaza. Two subjects that she knows well from her position as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
It was this Tuesday that the president of the commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was to reveal her casting.
Hadja Lahbib “honoured” to be officially a candidate for the post of European Commissioner
For final validation, several steps must be taken. Each candidate must be heard in the committees covering their skills.
30,000 euros per month, but for what? Here’s what Hadja Lahbib will do as European Commissioner
This is not a formality, as some have already been rejected in the past and had to be replaced. Only once this “examination” has been passed by each of the candidates will the European Parliament be able to give its green light in plenary to the new Commission, by a vote on the entire team.
Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs in the outgoing government, was expected to receive the migration policy. She was chosen last week by the president of the MR, at the expense of the outgoing commissioner Didier Reynders, after consultation with the parties negotiating the formation of a federal government (N-VA, MR, Engagés, CD&V, Vooruit), and despite protests from other parties in the outgoing government (Ecolo, Groen and PS).
Still no parity
The future European executive currently has 11 women for 16 men, or 40%, a figure below the promised parity. The Commission President stressed a rebalancing in the final stretch, but there is “still work to be done”, agreed the German leader, after several weeks of controversy on the subject.
In an attempt to address the criticism, four of the six vice-presidencies of the Commission are being assigned to women, including the Spanish socialist Teresa Ribera. This climate specialist, a minister under Pedro Sanchez, inherits a broad portfolio dedicated to the Ecological Transition and could play one of the leading roles in the new Brussels team.
Behind the scenes, negotiations for the positions were painful, right up until the last minute.
On Monday, it was the influential outgoing French Commissioner Thierry Breton who resigned with a bang, a victim of his execrable relations with Ms von der Leyen. To replace him, Emmanuel Macron proposed a close friend, Stéphane Séjourné, the discreet resigning Minister of Foreign Affairs. He obtained an executive vice-presidency and an important portfolio dedicated to prosperity and industrial strategy.
Behind the scenes of Hadja Lahbib’s withdrawal in Schaerbeek
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