• 5 months ago
Italy and the Czech Republic governments have already declared that they want their commissioners to be given big portfolios, a sign of their conviction that the conservatives' gains in the European elections should be reflected in the composition of the new EU executive.
Transcript
00:00Ursula von der Leyen may find it more challenging to put together her team of commissioners the second time around.
00:06After the far right and the right made big gains in the European elections,
00:10both Italy and the Czech Republic are now insisting that their commissioners are given big portfolios.
00:16Whilst each member state gets a commissioner, it's up to von der Leyen which portfolio they receive.
00:22The puzzle of putting her commission together will be a difficult one this time
00:28because the commissioners that she will receive from member states will be much more diverse in political views
00:37than it has been in the past, more Eurosceptics being part of that portfolio.
00:45The Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Maloney wants an economic vice presidency
00:50and the Czech Prime Minister Petro Fiala said he, quote, wants a strong portfolio, preferably the economic one.
00:57Hungary's far right Prime Minister Viktor Orban hasn't announced whether he wants Olivia Farfey to continue
01:04as the Neighbourhood and Enlargement Commissioner or whether he wants to nominate someone else.
01:09However, pressure won't come from the far right coalition in the Netherlands.
01:13It wants Commissioner for Climate Action Vupka Hoekstra,
01:16who was the previous choice of the previous Liberal Prime Minister, to stay on.
01:21Since in 2019, Ursula von der Leyen has asked all countries to request both male and female candidates to ensure there's a gender balance.
01:29But all candidates will have to go through hearings in the European Parliament to evaluate their skills
01:35and this could be a challenge, says one analyst.
01:38So the European Parliament invites all the commissioner candidates in their respective committees
01:44and asks them lots of questions to test whether they're fit for the job.
01:47And then in the very end, the whole of the college is again voted, there's again an approval vote by the European Parliament
01:53and that takes time, because the Parliament also here is always flexing its muscles a little bit
01:57and turning down one or even several commissioners.
02:02Ten of the 27 member states have already put forward their candidates.
02:06Greece, meanwhile, is keen to be given the latest post to be created, a commissioner for the Mediterranean.

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