Today, 17 September, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, presented the list of names of the Commissioners-designates who will form the College of Commissioners under the new EU institutions mandate, running from 2024 until 2029. Today’s communication also includes preliminary information on the structure of the new Commission in specific portfolios, in line with the ambitions set out in the Political Guidelines, and provides insights into the working methods as well as the prospective policy work of Commission von der Leyen II, as per the published Mission letters.
Importantly, the letters display the horizontal commitment of the new Commission to reducing administrative burdens, notably by easing reporting obligations. For instance, each Commissioner-designate is required to prepare an Annual Progress Report on Enforcement and Implementation for the relevant working bodies in the European Parliament (EP) and Council. The Commissioners-to-be shall also follow the principles of Better Regulation and ensure that the new SME and competitiveness check is duly performed.
Today’s communication of the list of Commissioners-designate follows the election of von der Leyen as President of the Commission by the EP on 18 July and it paves the way for the start of the confirmation hearings. These hearings, whose aim is to evaluate the Commissioners-designate’s competences, knowledge of the provisionally allocated portfolios and European commitment, will be led by the relevant EP Committees and will take place throughout October and November.
Given Ecommerce Europe’s close ties with the EU institutions, we warmly welcome today’s important milestone towards the set-up of a new Commission. You will find here the full list of Commissioners-designate and their respective role. Below you can find a brief overview only of those Commissioners holding a portfolio of high relevance to e-commerce. We highlighted the Executive Vice-President that each Commissioner will have to report to, the Directorate-General(s) that she or he will steer, as well as the policy goals and regulatory activities they are tasked with and that are likely to have an impact on the European digital commerce ecosystem.
Teresa Ribera (Spain): Executive Vice-President for the Clean, Just and Competitive Transition
The EVP is entrusted to develop a new approach to competition policy by ensuring that it supports European companies and that it contributes to competitiveness and sustainability, taking into account sectoral policies. She will address challenges arising in the digital markets, including the platform economy, notably by effectively enforcing the Digital Markets Act.
Henna Virkkunen (Finland): Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy
The EVP is expected to lead the work on Artificial Intelligence, for instance on the AI Factories initiative. She will ensure the implementation of the digital acquis and assess whether it is adapted to SMEs resources. She will tackle challenges related to e-commerce platforms and combat “dark patterns”. She will deal with the deployment of EU wallets for businesses to reduce administrative costs.
Stéphane Séjourné (France): Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy
The EVP is allocated the task to develop a horizontal Single Market Strategy promoting cross-border movement of goods and services and speeding up the removal of barriers, notably by introducing a Single Market Barriers Prevention Act. To reduce administrative burden, he is expected to strengthen the Single Digital Gateway by adding new information areas such as labelling. He will co-lead work on the Circular Economy Act, fostering the creation of a single market for waste.
Maroš Šefčovič (Slovakia): Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency
- Under the guidance of EVP Stéphane Séjourné
- Steering the work of DG TAXUD, DG TRADE
- The Commissioner is due to work on an effective and modern customs system supporting the negotiations on the Customs Reform package including its implementation and working with Member States on finalising a fully digital customs environment. He is expected to tackle challenges related with e-commerce platforms and work on measures to prevent non-EU-compliant products from entering the EU market.
Valdis Dombrovskis (Latvia): Economy and Productivity, Implementation and Simplification
- Under the guidance of EVP Stéphane Séjourné
- Steering the work of DG ECFIN
- The Commissioner is responsible for making progress on the digital euro As part of his tasks to ensure less administrative and reporting burden, simpler implementation and better enforcement, he will help prepare an annual plan for fitness checks and evaluation. He will implement a new stakeholders’ consultation approach, called Reality Checks. He will lead the negotiations on a renewed Interinstitutional agreement on simplification and better lawmaking, so to ensure that all institutions assess the impact and costs of proposals and amendment using the same methodology.
Wopke Hoekstra (Netherlands): Climate, Net-Zero and Clean Growth
- Under the guidance of EVP Teresa Ribera
- Steering the work of DG CLIMA
- The Commissioner will deal with taxation, notably by continuing the work on the reform of corporate taxation, including the corporate tax package.
Maria Luís Albuquerque (Portugal): Financial Services
- Under the guidance of EVP Stéphane Séjourné
- Steering the work of DG FISMA
- The Commissioner is mandated to improve digital payments, ensuring a robust retail payments infrastructure.
Jessika Roswall (Sweden): Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy
- Under the guidance of EVP Teresa Ribera
- Steering the work of DG ENV
- The Commissioner is entrusted with the implementation of the European Green Deal, which should be effective and simple. She will contribute to the work on the Circular Economy Act, establishing a single market for waste and for sustainable products.
Michael McGrath (Ireland): Democracy, Justice and Rule of Law
- Under the guidance of EVP Henna Virkkunen
- Steering the work of DG JUST
The Commissioner is responsible for presenting the next Consumer Agenda 2025-2030, focussing on the protection of vulnerable consumers and assessing the need to update rules and ensure enforcement. He is expected to propose a new Action Plan on consumers in the Single Market to ensure their protection when buying goods and services. He will be in charge of developing a Digital Fairness Act to tackle unfair commercial practices (e.g., “dark patterns”). He will also contribute to tackling challenges related to e-commerce platforms. He is due to modernise, implement and enforce product safety policies. He is also entrusted with the enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the digital transition.