Economic portfolios are key in talks to chose new EU commissioners

Ursula von der Leyen is facing challenging negotiations to make her caller College of Commissioners with economical portfolios among the astir coveted by European Union subordinate states.

Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, Czechia and Romania person each indicated they anticipation to assertion 1 specified portfolio, with the 1 including the fund highly sought after.

"We person the Multiannual Financial Framework to beryllium negotiated successful the adjacent term. This volition beryllium a precise hard and precise dense dossier, but it volition besides beryllium thing which volition beryllium precise determining the priorities of the years to come," Janis Emmanouilidis, a elder argumentation expert astatine the European Policy Center (EPC), told Euronews.

France is besides successful contention for a beardown portfolio arsenic it has nominated Thierry Breton, present Commissioner for the Internal Market, to enactment successful Brussels for a 2nd term.

“There is ever a large involvement successful Competition and Trade, areas wherever the EU has a batch of competence," Sophia Russack, a researcher astatine the Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS), told Euronews.

“The aforesaid applies to those that person a peculiarly precocious interaction connected the budget, for illustration the cohesion and agriculture funds which unneurotic correspond astir a 3rd of the full EU budget,” she added.

The caller portfolios for grabs

In these powerfulness plays, Ursula von der Leyen tin besides usage defence, a caller portfolio dedicated to the subject industry, seen arsenic precise applicable owed to the warfare successful Ukraine.

The Mediterranean - linked to migration absorption - and lodging volition besides person dedicated commissioners for the archetypal time.

To implicit the "puzzle" and designate enforcement vice-presidents, the centre-right Commission main volition besides person to instrumentality into relationship which governmental parties backed her reappointment successful the European Parliament successful July.

"One tin presume that again - fixed that she is from the EPP, the Conservative Party - determination should beryllium a Socialist, a Liberal, and perchance a Green, among the apical positions successful the Commission," Emmanouilidis said.

Italy, the EU's third-biggest economy, has yet to officially bespeak its candidate. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni abstained during the European Council ballot to renew von der Leyen astatine the helm of the bloc's executive.

The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), to which Meloni's enactment Brothers of Italy belongs, became the 4th biggest governmental radical successful the European Parliament and voted against von der Leyen's confirmation. What portfolio Italy volition get is 1 of the hottest topics successful Brussels.

The sex issue

Another trump paper to usage successful the negotiations with the 27 capitals is sex equilibrium arsenic requested by von der Leyen whose archetypal assemblage achieved parity. But less than 10 women person been nominated truthful acold by governments to caput to Brussels.

"She tin reason that if the state offers a precise bully candidate, past it tin besides connection her a precise absorbing portfolio. There are these kinds of backroom deals that tin beryllium made to enactment unit connected subordinate states. So it's a premix of gender, governmental and geographical issues, a precise analyzable statement to implement," Emmanouilidis said.

On Wednesday, Portugal nominated erstwhile Finance Minister Maria Luís Albuquerque, but Denmark announced a antheral name, Dan Jørgensen, erstwhile Minister of Climate and Energy.

"The contented of sex is besides a motion of existent times. Parliament itself is presently made up of less pistillate members than it was successful the past, not adjacent 40%. But we besides person to accidental that successful immoderate countries determination are interior procedures, for example, that the Parliament and oregon the President person to hold with the prime of the Prime Minister," Russack said.

After receiving each the names, von der Leyen volition behaviour idiosyncratic interviews and contiguous the last enactment to the European Parliament, which volition clasp hearings with the 26 candidates. If immoderate are rejected, caller names indispensable beryllium presented until the full squad is approved successful a plenary session.