The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, unveiled the composition of her new executive on Tuesday, on the sidelines of the plenary session of the European Parliament (EP), which is being held until September 19 in Strasbourg.
Von der Leyen, re-elected this summer as head of the Commission, discussed with the leaders of the EP political groups the structure and portfolios of the proposed new College of Commissioners.
In a statement to the press on this occasion, she affirmed that the new team has defined fundamental and transversal priorities, centered around prosperity, security and democracy, emphasizing the commitment of the College to the competitiveness of the EU through the construction of a “competitive, decarbonized and circular”.
She also stressed the importance of Commissioners working together, saying they had established a “lighter, more interactive and interconnected structure”.
The President of the Executive also noted that the proposed College now includes 11 women out of a total of 27 Commissioners (one per Member State), or 40% of the posts.
“When I received the first round of applications, we were heading towards a Commission with about 22% women and 78% men. That was unacceptable. So I worked with the Member States and we were able to improve the balance,” she said.
In this regard, she pointed out that four women are among the six Executive Vice-Presidents of the Commission. They are Teresa Ribera (Spain), responsible for the clean, just and competitive transition and competition policy, Henna Virkkunen (Finland), responsible for technological sovereignty, security and democracy, Kaja Kallas (Estonia), EU High Representative, and Roxana Minzatu (Romania), responsible for people, skills and preparedness.
The other proposed vice-presidents are Stéphane Séjourné (France), who will be responsible for prosperity and industrial strategy, and Raffaele Fitto (Italy), responsible for cohesion and reforms.
It should be noted that this College is experiencing the creation of a new position of Commissioner for Defence and Space, awarded to the Lithuanian Andrius Kubilius, with the aim of facing new challenges, in particular the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.
Following this presentation by Ursula von der Leyen’s team, the proposed commissioners, once officially approved by the EU Council, which represents the member states, will have to pass hearings before MEPs and undergo a vote of approval by the legislative institution before taking office.
The European Parliament approved in July the reappointment of von der Leyen for a new five-year term at the head of the European Commission, following the European elections last June, won by her party, the European People’s Party (EPP, pro-European right).
