Advertising
News4Social English
  • News
    • National
    • Education
    • Review
    • Space
    • Environment
  • Health Trends
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Sports
  • World
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • National
    • Education
    • Review
    • Space
    • Environment
  • Health Trends
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Sports
  • World
No Result
View All Result
News4Social English
No Result
View All Result
Advertising
Home World

Lawmakers are vetting the EU chief's new team. It might be tough but she has the right on her side

November 3, 2024
in World
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Lawmakers are vetting the EU chief's new team. It might be tough but she has the right on her side
295
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on TwitterShare on Telegram
Advertising

Lawmakers are vetting the EU chief's new team. It might be tough but she has the right on her side

BRUSSELS — Five months after the European Union lurched to the political right, the influence of nationalist and populist parties will go on public display in Brussels on Monday when lawmakers vet the proposed new members of the EU’s increasingly powerful executive branch.

Advertising

Over five days of hearings, the EU parliamentarians will grill 26 top officials — nominated by their national governments — to establish whether they are suitable to lead the next European Commission on policies like agriculture, trade, economic affairs, health or migration.

RelatedPosts

Trump to make unprecedented second state visit to UK in September

Trump to make unprecedented second state visit to UK in September

July 14, 2025
US aid cuts halt HIV vaccine research in South Africa, with global impact

US aid cuts halt HIV vaccine research in South Africa, with global impact

July 14, 2025

The commission is the only EU body with the power to draft laws which, once passed by the Parliament and the council of member states, apply in all 27 countries of the bloc. They cover everything from water quality to data protection to competition policy.

Advertising

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen assembled her new-look executive in September, seeking to balance sensitive political, geographical and gender concerns within a team that will lead the European project for the next five years.

The vast majority of the would-be commissioners come from the right of the political spectrum, mostly the European People’s Party (EPP), a conservative EU-wide political family that counts von der Leyen as a member and is the biggest in the parliament. That should makes things easier for her.

Despite that advantage, the EPP has already worked with hard-right groups — including Italian Premier Georgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, which has neo-fascist roots, and stridently nationalist lawmakers from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz — to secure majorities in the European Parliament.

Advertising

Other pro-European parties were weakened in the June 6-9 EU elections and von der Leyen can operate without them. The second-biggest group — the center-left Socialists and Democrats — seems ready to rubber-stamp her team. Its leaders say it does not have a “kill list” of nominees that it intends to remove.

The commission is akin to a government cabinet, with commissioners instead of ministers. But it proposes laws that influence all aspects of the lives of around 450 million people in the 27 countries that make up the world’s biggest trading bloc. Von der Leyen is the boss of more than 33,000 employees.

The commission handles trade talks, sealing agreements with EU partners in the outside world and managing disputes at the World Trade Organization. It’s also a powerful competition watchdog, whose influence has been felt by tech giants like Apple, Google and Meta.

Advertising

Von der Leyen’s power is growing. Her team led the European drive to secure COVID-19 vaccines, and whipped up a massive rescue package to help Europe’s economies cope with the cost of trying to stop the pandemic spreading. It also helped the EU weather the energy crisis sparked by Russia’s war on Ukraine.

This is von der Leyen’s second term. More than half the nominees — 14 of them, compared to 10 last time — are from EPP parties, like her. Ten of them are women. Von der Leyen, a German, is keeping Europe’s other major powers France, Italy and Spain close by her side.

To the disappointment of mainstream parties, she has penciled in Meloni ally Raffaele Fitto as a new executive vice president — one of five — to oversee “cohesion policy,” which helps finance infrastructure projects with a big slice of the EU’s massive budget.

Advertising

Former French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné was made a VP and secured the industry portfolio. Spanish Socialist Teresa Ribera, another VP, has a powerful post combining the transition toward a green economy and competition policies.

Former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas will be von der Leyen’s foreign policy chief. Ultimately, though, they will all answer to the president.

Nominees are questioned for three hours by the leaders of committees and senior lawmakers most closely linked to their portfolios. The nominees must demonstrate general competence, a commitment to Europe, independence, and good communications skills.

Advertising

Immediately after, an evaluation is made behind closed doors. Candidates must win a two-thirds majority vote. If they fall short, lawmakers can ask additional questions in writing or request a further 90-minute grilling.

Some candidates are deemed not good enough. Lawmakers might reject others as a show of strength. Three were vetoed in 2019. Sometimes portfolios are switched among the commissioners, or their responsibilities redefined, to satisfy the parliament’s demands.

The vote results should remain secret until the entire hearing process ends on Nov. 12. But given the high political stakes, lawmakers will probably leak the news. Any group that vetoes a candidate risks seeing their own knocked out in revenge.

Advertising

Von der Leyen’s EPP and the hard right ganged up to set the hearing agenda. As a result, the most controversial candidate — Italy’s Fitto — is the first of the six VPs to be questioned on the final day of hearings. Any mainstream lawmakers who target him risk seeing their favorite ousted in return.

One of the first candidates to make his case will be Glenn Micallef — the socialist nominee for youth, culture and sport — who hails from Malta, the EU’s smallest country. He’s been branded as a political lightweight, compared to the former ministers and premiers being questioned. His fate could set the tone.

Marta Kos, a liberal from Slovenia foreseen as the next enlargement commissioner, is inexperienced too. She’s also been criticized for being pro-Russian.

Advertising

Oliver Varhelyi is Orbán’s man in Brussels. He’s been given the health and animal welfare portfolio. Lawmakers still seethe about a hot mic incident in which he referred to them as “idiots.” Some doubt the wisdom of putting him in charge of health after Orbán opted for Russian and Chinese-made vaccines rather than join the EU’s joint purchasing effort. But voting him down poses risks. Orbán has been at war with the commission and he could simply refuse to name a replacement, blocking the entire process.

Check More Latest Sports News Click Here– Latest Sports

Check More Latest News in World Click Here– Latest World

Advertising

Related Posts

Trump to make unprecedented second state visit to UK in September
World

Trump to make unprecedented second state visit to UK in September

July 14, 2025
US aid cuts halt HIV vaccine research in South Africa, with global impact
World

US aid cuts halt HIV vaccine research in South Africa, with global impact

July 14, 2025
Ecuador offers 0,000 reward for information on lawmaker accused of raping a minor
World

Ecuador offers $100,000 reward for information on lawmaker accused of raping a minor

July 14, 2025
Cameroon’s 92-year-old president seeks 8th term amid health rumors and political challenges
World

Cameroon’s 92-year-old president seeks 8th term amid health rumors and political challenges

July 14, 2025
At Pamplona’s San Fermín festival, a tiny minority of women run with bulls
World

At Pamplona’s San Fermín festival, a tiny minority of women run with bulls

July 13, 2025
Ukraine’s security agency says it killed Russian agents suspected of gunning down its officer
World

Ukraine’s security agency says it killed Russian agents suspected of gunning down its officer

July 13, 2025
Australia PM Albanese kicks off China visit focused on trade
World

Australia PM Albanese kicks off China visit focused on trade

July 13, 2025
UK’s oldest WWII veteran, Donald Rose, dies at 110
World

UK’s oldest WWII veteran, Donald Rose, dies at 110

July 12, 2025
Turkish president hails start of disarmament by militant Kurdish separatists
World

Turkish president hails start of disarmament by militant Kurdish separatists

July 12, 2025
What the ‘black box’ can tell us about plane crashes
World

What the ‘black box’ can tell us about plane crashes

July 12, 2025

We bring you the best Premium WordPress Themes that perfect for news, magazine, personal blog, etc.

Follow us on social media:

Recent News

  • 53 Arts Classic 10 Pieces Colorful Tropical Hawaiian Umbrella Decoration
  • NASA confirms 3I/ATLAS as third interstellar object passing through our solar system | – The Times of India
  • Trump to make unprecedented second state visit to UK in September

Category

  • Brand Stories
  • Business
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Culture
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Environment
  • Health Trends
  • Latest News
  • Lifestyle
  • National
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Review
  • Science
  • Space
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • World

Recent News

53 Arts Classic 10 Pieces Colorful Tropical Hawaiian Umbrella Decoration

53 Arts Classic 10 Pieces Colorful Tropical Hawaiian Umbrella Decoration

July 14, 2025
NASA confirms 3I/ATLAS as third interstellar object passing through our solar system | – The Times of India

NASA confirms 3I/ATLAS as third interstellar object passing through our solar system | – The Times of India

July 14, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Science
  • Environment
  • Education
  • Guest Post on News 4 Social

© 2025 News4Social - All Rights Reserved. Guild King Pvt. Ltd. News4Social.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Business
  • National
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Opinion
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Entertainment

© 2025 News4Social - All Rights Reserved. Guild King Pvt. Ltd. News4Social.

Advertising
pixel