Von der Leyen unveils proposed new European Commission team

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today announced the structure and portfolios of the proposed new College of Commissioners, following discussions with leaders of the Political Groups of the European Parliament and intensive weeks of negotiations with EU Member States.

The new 27-member Commission will include six executive vice-presidents (EVPs) – four women and two men.

Among the vice-presidents is Estonia’s former prime minister Kaja Kallas, nominated as EU High Representative, succeeding Josep Borrell as the EU’s foreign policy chief. “We are in an era of geostrategic rivalries and instability,” said von der Leyen. “Our foreign and security policy must be designed with this reality in mind and it must be more aligned with our own interests. I know that I can count on her to bring all of this together – and be the bridge between our internal and external policies.” 

Marta Kos, the nominee from Slovenia, will be Commissioner for Enlargement – also responsible for the Eastern neighbourhood, though her nomination procedure, which involves consultation of the Slovenian Parliament, is still ongoing.

“She will work on supporting Ukraine – and continuing the work on reconstruction, and support candidate countries to prepare them for accession,” von der Leyen said.

Andrius Kubilius from Lithuania will take the new post of Commissioner for Defence and Space. He will work on developing the European Defence Union and boosting the EU’s investment and industrial capacity.

“We are now beginning an intense and necessary period of parliamentary scrutiny of the new College of Commissioners,” said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola after meeting President von der Leyen. “Members will carefully examine the candidacies of all Commissioners-designate in public hearings. The aim is to complete this vetting process as efficiently as possible. However, the MEPs will not cut corners. Our citizens are counting on us.”

Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs will now scrutinise the declarations of interests of the Commissioners-designate, ahead of confirmation hearings and votes to approve each Commissioner-designate.

Parliament will evaluate Commissioners-designate based on their general competence, European commitment and personal independence, as well as assess their knowledge of their prospective portfolio and their communication skills.

Find out more

Ursula von der Leyen statement

European Parliament press release