Von der Leyen Unveils New European Commission With Record 40% of Women in Senior Positions
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced how she plans to distribute the portfolios of European Commissioners among candidates from different EU countries.
She made the announcement at a press conference in Brussels and wrote about it on the X network.
At the same time, the Group of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament noted that the gender balance of the Commission has improved from 22% to 40% of women who will receive important portfolios.
Ursula von der Leyen spoke about the structure of the European Commission and the distribution of vice-presidents and specialised commissioners.
Source: x-vonderleyen
The portfolio of the European Commissioner for Enlargement was given to the representative of Slovenia, Marta Kos, who will be responsible for cooperation with the EU's eastern neighbours, including Ukraine.
‘She will continue to work on supporting Ukraine, continuing to rebuild and supporting the candidate countries on their way to accession,’ von der Leyen said.
Slovakia's Maroš Šefčovič has been entrusted with the new portfolio of the European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency.
Latvian Valdis Dombrovskis has been appointed European Commissioner for Economic and Productivity Affairs. Initially, there were hopes that he might receive the portfolio of Commissioner for Enlargement.
Lithuanian representative Andrius Kubilius has been appointed to the new position of Commissioner for Defence and Space.
‘He will work on developing the defence alliance and strengthening our investment and industrial capabilities,’ von der Leyen said.
Hungarian representative Oliver Várhelyi, as expected, was given a low-profile position as Commissioner for Animal Health and Welfare.
Poland's Piotr Serafin will become Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration and will report directly to von der Leyen. His responsibilities will include, among other things, the preparation of the next long-term EU budget.
The portfolio of the Commissioner for Agriculture was given to the representative of Luxembourg, Christophe Hansen.
Belgium's Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib is moving to the European Commission and will be appointed European Commissioner for Emergency Preparedness and Crisis Response, combining the post of Commissioner for Equality.
Croatian representative Dubravka Šuica has been appointed to the new post of European Commissioner for the Mediterranean (which was previously expected to go to the representative of Cyprus).
Dutch Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra will be responsible for climate and clean economy, and will also deal with taxation issues.
Jozef Sikela from the Czech Republic will be responsible for the EU's international partnerships.
Kostas Kadis from Cyprus will become European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans.
Maria Luís Albuquerque of Portugal has been appointed Commissioner for Financial Services, Savings and Investment Union.
Austrian Magnus Brunner was given the portfolio of Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration.
Sweden's Jessika Roswall will be responsible for the environment, water resources and a competitive ‘circular’ economy.
Denmark's Dan Jørgensen will become Commissioner for Energy and Housing.
Bulgaria's candidate Ekaterina Zaharieva will be Commissioner for Research and Innovation.
Irishman Michael McGrath will become Commissioner for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law.
Greek representative Apostolos Tzitzikostas will be in charge of transport and tourism.
Maltese Glenn Micallef (whose candidacy was allegedly criticised on the sidelines for his almost complete lack of experience) will be the Commissioner for Intergenerational Justice, Culture, Youth and Sport.