In the Making: The New College of Commission
On 16 September 2024, Ursula von der Leyen unveiled her proposed College of Commissioners. The sustainability, industry and competition portfolios have been distributed amongst three Commissioners:
- Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, Spain’s Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, and Vice-President of the Government, is the proposed Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, responsible for the Competition portfolio. If confirmed in this role, Mrs. Ribera would be entrusted with the coordination of the Clean Industrial Deal, to be presented in the first 100 days of the new Commission mandate. She would also be tasked to work in coordination with the Commissioner for Environment to ensure that Europe develops a “clean, circular economy”, and to embed the environmental nexus in all EU policies. See Teresa Ribera Rodríguez’s complete mission letter here.
- Stéphane Séjourné is the proposed candidate for the position of Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy position, responsible for the Industry, SME and Single Market portfolio. In this role, Mr. Séjourné’s mission would include developing a horizontal Single Market Strategy, a Single Market Barriers Prevention Act, an Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act, and working jointly with other relevant Commissioners to deliver the Commission’s Clean Industrial Deal, Circular Economy Act, as well as a new Chemicals Industry Package. See Stéphane Séjourné’s complete mission letter here.
- Jessika Roswall, is the Commissioner-designate for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy. If confirmed in this position, her tasks would include leading the work to develop the Commission’s Circular Economy Act, proposing an updated bioeconomy strategy, supporting efforts to develop a single market for sustainable products, and working on the new Chemicals Industry Package, aiming to simplify REACH and provide clarity on PFAS. See Jessika Roswall’s complete mission letter here.
The overview of all 26 Commissioners-designate and the portfolios Commission President von der Leyen assigned to them is available here.
What’s next?
Between 4 and 12 November, the Commissioners-designate will appear before the relevant European Parliament Committees for hearings, during which MEPs will interview them to assess if they are suitable for the posts they have been assigned to. Following the hearings, the European Parliament will approve the new College during a plenary session, likely during the last one of November (week 25 November), in principle enabling the new Commissioners to take office from 1st December. The European Parliament can of course reject some of the proposed Commissioners following the hearings, forcing the Commission President to introduce new candidates who will be subject to hearings as well. This course of events could delay the establishment of the new College, this timeline therefore remains to be confirmed.