The European Parliament approved all candidates for the European Commission. This means that the European Commission will be able to start work already on December 1.
Politico writes about it.
Hearings of candidates for European commissioners began on November 4 — all this time, politicians were undergoing various checks. In particular, the Hungarian politician Oliver Vargei, who was proposed for the position of commissioner for health and animal welfare, passed several rounds.
Previously, he was responsible for EU enlargement, but because of his countryʼs position on Ukraine, they decided to give him another position.
The centre-right European Peopleʼs Party (EPP), the Socialists and Democrats and the liberal Renew Europe group struck a deal on Wednesday to allow the appointment of the last six European commissioners.
What preceded
In July, the European Parliament approved the candidacy of Ursula von der Leyen for the position of President of the European Commission.
However, the appointment of von der Leyen did not mean the start of the work of the new European Commission. This requires the European Parliament to approve the nominations of all commissioners. This process is still ongoing.
Of the 27 positions of European Commissioners, 11 can be filled by women. At the same time, women predominate among executive vice presidents — four to two. For a long time, Von der Leyen put pressure on EU countries to nominate women as candidates for European Commissioners, as she sought equal representation of women and men in the EC. However, as compared with the previous composition of the EC, the ratio of articles has not changed.
This is where Babel talked in detail about the final list of candidates for the positions of European Commissioners.
The European Commission is the highest executive body of the European Union, which roughly corresponds to the role and functions of government in nation-state systems. Unlike national governments, the European Commission can also act as a legislative initiative.
The commission consists of 27 members, including the president and vice president. Although each member is appointed by the national government, one from each EU member state, they do not represent their country in the EC. However, in practice, they sometimes defend the national interests of their countries.
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