New Commission to seek European Parliament endorsement
The vote on the investiture of the new European Commission is scheduled for November 27
Corina Cristea, 22.11.2019, 13:54
The vote on the new European Commission is scheduled for next Wednesday, during the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The announcement was made by the Parliament president David Sassoli, who said the Conference of Presidents authorised the publication of the evaluation letters of Commissioners-designate. These are reports made by the specialist committees following the hearing of each candidate, held between September 30 and October 8 for 23 nominees. The last round of committee hearings was held on November 14, when the new candidates sent by Romania, Hungary and France were evaluated, after the initial nominations made by these countries were rejected in the parliamentary validation procedure.
Meanwhile, last week the European Commission initiated an infringement procedure against Britain, which declined nominating a commissioner-designate.
According to the president of the European Parliament, over the past 2 months the body has carefully reviewed the performances of the commissioners-designate, and the Conference of Presidents, made up of the political group leaders and the EP president, conducted the final evaluation after exchanging opinions with the Commissions 3 executive vice-presidents—Frans Timmermans, Margrethe Vestager and Valdis Dombrovkis.
“The hearings have been detailed, and sometimes difficult, but they provide a unique and transparent way for MEPs to verify whether the Commissioners-designate are ready for the job ahead, Sassoli said, and on Thursday Parliament officially closed the evaluation process. The vote on the College of Commissioners will take place next week, and if its a favourable vote the Commission will be able to start its work on December 1. “As the direct link with EU citizens, the Parliament will continue to hold the Commission to account and ensure it delivers on its promises, the EP president added.
The vote in the Parliament plenary session will be held after Ursula von der Leyen has presented the new members and their programme. In the next 5 years, Europe will be facing many challenges, Sassoli also mentioned, from long-term solutions to the migration and asylum to taking over global leadership in the fight against climate change. We need a European Commission ready to tackle the problems that matter to Europeans, David Sassoli also said.
(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)
