When Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected as President of the European Commission, she announced that she would require each country to appoint a man and a woman to the post, unless the current commissioner remained in office. The EC chief decided to create new posts of European Commissioner for Housing and the Mediterranean Region.
One commissioner is appointed in each country. Von der Leyen is seen as Germany’s choice, while Kaja Kallas, who EU leaders have backed as the next foreign policy chief, will represent Estonia. The head of the foreign policy department is appointed by the European Council, but is the vice-president of the European Commission. Several governments have decided to avoid unpleasant internal disputes by sending their current representative back to EC headquarters, such as Maroš Šefčović (Slovakia) and Valdis Dombrovskis (Latvia). The same probably applies to Dubravka Šujce (Croatia), although the government has not yet officially appointed her.
Dutch Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra joined the European Commission in October as a replacement for Frans Timmermans and will return for another five years, although his party is not part of the Dutch government. It remains to be seen whether the leaders of France and Greece will decide to send back their current commissioners, Thierry Breton and Margaritis Schinas.
A growing number of countries began submitting their candidacies even before von der Leyen made her official request. Spain is hoping to secure a big energy and climate change portfolio for Environment Transition Minister Teresa Ribera, especially since she is likely to be the most senior Socialist in the next commission. Sweden will send its EU minister Jessica Rosewall, Finland will send MEP Henna Virkkunen, Slovenia will nominate former Court of Auditors president Tomaz Vesel, Ireland will nominate Finance Minister Michael McGrath, and the Czech Republic will nominate Industry and Trade Minister Josef Sikela.
