As work resumes in the European Institutions following the summer break, new institutional developments will take place in the coming weeks as part of the setting-up of the new European Commission.
The first constitutive Plenary meeting of the European Parliament (EP) took place from 16 July to 19 July. Members of the European Parliament officially took office, officialising the composition of the European Parliament and electing key EU leadership positions. This Plenary was marked by the election of the EP President, Roberta Metsola (EPP, Malta) as well as the election of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who presented her political guideline for the upcoming mandate on Thursday, 18 July.
In her speech ahead of the vote, von der Leyen outlined her priorities if elected for a new mandate, summarising her political guidelines for the next European Commission. During her speech, she notably presented the need for a Clean Industrial Deal for decarbonisation and growth of the industry and the European Competitiveness Fund to push innovation in the EU. Additionally, Ursula von der Leyen proposed a European Democracy Shield, a European Affordable Housing Plan, and a Roadmap for Women’s Rights. She also stressed the need to adapt agriculture to climate change, as well as the importance of the Erasmus + programme. Finally, she proposed the creation of a new Commissioner post for the EU Defence. In her political guidelines, von der Leyen also insisted on the objective of prosperity and competitiveness. She detailed further priorities such as “making business easier” tackling single market barriers and existing adminsitrative burdens. It also focuses on enforcement and implementation of digital law adopted during the last mandate, ramping up efforts on the Digital Services Act and Digital Market Acts.
Ursula von der Leyen is now building her college of Commissioners, following the nomination of candidates by each Member States.
At this stage, we are still waiting for the attributions of the portfolios by the President of the Commission, which should be made public on 11 September. Then, the Parliament’s Committee for Legal Affairs will screen the candidate Commissioners, followed by the other committees’ questions to nominees during dedicated hearings. After the confirmation hearings in the relevant committee(s) are completed, the confirmation vote in the Parliament of the College of Commissioners is expected to take place during an upcoming plenary session, either at the end of October or at the end of November depending on individual hearings. Ecommerce Europe will monitor the attribution of portfolios and the evolution of the ongoing files after the handover is completed.