The new European Commission is expected to take office December 1 at the earliest, after confirmation hearings for incoming commissioners were set for early November by the EU parliament Wednesday.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen unveiled her new top team last month, assigning portfolios to the candidates nominated by member states, after European elections in June.
But all would-be commissioners still need to win approval from the European Parliament.
Parliament president Roberta Metsola said on Wednesday that confirmation hearings, where commissioners are grilled by lawmakers, would take place between 4 and 12 November.
“With a mandate given by European citizens, MEPs will ask, assess, scrutinize and vote. This is European democracy,” she wrote on social media platform X.
This in turn puts the new EU executive body on track to start in early December at best.
Parliament is usually eager to use the occasion to flex its muscles to reject some candidates.
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In 2019, three nominees, including France’s Sylvie Goulard were turned down by lawmakers, who first assess potential conflicts of interest, then quiz commissioners on their brief and politics.
The commission is one of the world’s most formidable regulators, enforcing European law on key issues such as trade, competition and tech.
The main task of Von der Leyen’s new team will be shoring up the EU’s economic and military security over the next five years. The bloc is faced with challenges including Russia’s war in Ukraine and competition from China.
Van der Leyen, a German politician, has handed powerful economic portfolios to France, Spain and Italy with a hard-right candidate from Rome taking a top role in a commission seen shifting broadly rightward.
The stated target was to have a new commission in place by November but the process was delayed by intense negotiations and squabbling over gender balance which resulted in some countries changing their pick at the 11th hour.
