Sweden's next EU Commissioner has been nominated. But now Jessika Roswall will also get a responsibility area – and be grilled by the EU Parliament.
But first, the boss must be cleared.
The EU countries' heads of state and government have proposed five more years for German Ursula von der Leyen as President of the EU Commission. For this to happen, she must get at least 361 yes votes when the EU Parliament votes on her, provisionally on Thursday, July 18.
Despite strong support from the center, she is not at all certain. In 2019, she was voted in with only a nine-vote margin. If von der Leyen is not approved, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (The Moderate Party) and his EU colleagues must quickly hold a new summit and nominate a new candidate within a month.
Battle for assignments
The next step will be to distribute work assignments to the other 26 members of the Commission – one from each member state. One is already completely clear: Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has been proposed by the heads of state and government as the new Foreign Minister.
For the others, it's about the President finding a functional mix, taking into account previous experience and knowledge, while many EU countries are pushing hard for their Commissioner to get a particularly important assignment.
Given responsibility areas are, for example, economy, environment, labor market, and trade. This year, defense is also expected to get a special Commissioner.
Grilled in the fall
When the distribution is done, each Commissioner must also undergo a thorough grilling in committee hearings in the EU Parliament during the fall. There, it's about showing oneself to be skilled both in terms of knowledge and politics. Often, at least one or two intended Commissioners are replaced along the way when the Parliament considers them unsuitable.
Both Cecilia Malmström and Ylva Johansson received a thumbs-down from the Parliament and were forced to answer additional questions before being approved.
Once everyone has been cleared, a final vote is held in the entire EU Parliament, which usually becomes a mere formality. If everything goes as planned, the new Commission can take office as early as November 1.
The following members have already been nominated to the next EU Commission:
Germany: Ursula von der Leyen (President)
Estonia: Kaja Kallas (Foreign Minister)
Latvia: Valdis Dombrovskis
Slovakia: Maros Sefcovic
Finland: Henna Virkkunen
Ireland: Michael McGrath
Spain: Teresa Ribera
Sweden: Jessika Roswall
