How were the President and Commissioners of the European Commission chosen?
A lengthy selection process takes place between the European elections and the entry into function of the Commissioners of the European Commission. The process for Ursula von der Leyen and her 26 commissioners took six months.
The College of Commissioners of the European Union visited the Belgian presidency at the Egmont Palace in Brussels on Friday afternoon. This is a special year for the 27 Commissioners (one from each Member State) as it marks the end of their term of office, which started in 2019. A new team will be formed following the European elections in June to take over the Commission’s political leadership.
How are new Commissioners chosen?
This is a fairly lengthy process involving the European Council, the Parliament, the Council of the EU, the Member States and the President of the future College.
It all starts with the elections which, this year, took place from 6 to 9 June.
In light of the results, the Heads of State and Government of the 27 Member States meeting within the European Council agree, by a ‘reinforced qualified majority’, on a candidate to hold the presidency of the College of Commissioners. The choice is submitted to the Parliament for approval. If the Parliament rejects the choice, the Council must propose another candidate within one month.
The President is therefore the first College Commissioner to be appointed and is actively involved in the selection of their 26 future colleagues. In theory, it is the Council of the EU that adopts the list of Commissioners. In practice, however, each Member State submits a candidate and discusses with the President the field (economy, justice, etc.) “their” Commissioner will cover. Please note that a Commissioner does not represent their country; they must be completely neutral. They represent the general European interest, with no national preference. Article 17 of the Treaty on European Union states that, “The members of the Commission shall be chosen on the ground of their general competence and European commitment from persons whose independence is beyond doubt.”
Like the president, the 26 selected Commissioners need Parliament approval. For this, they must attend hearings before MEPs. Their profile and probity are checked prior to this. Negotiations sometimes take place between the political groups but, in principle, the purpose of these hearings is solely to check that the Commissioners meet the criteria of competence and independence. This means that candidates are sometimes eliminated before or during the hearings.
The hearings for the formation of the current College lasted… two and a half months. Parliament approved the College on 27 November 2019, six months after the elections.
The job of the Commissioners
The Commissioners form the political leadership of the European Commission, which, it should be remembered, is the institution that proposes legislation and ensures it is implemented once it has been approved by the Council and Parliament. Each Commissioner is responsible for a particular field and has an entire administration at their disposal in what is called a Directorate-General. The majority of these Directorate-Generals are located in the European Quarter in Brussels.
The Commission makes its decisions and communicates in a collegiate way. The College generally meets every Wednesday morning in Brussels. The President may call extraordinary meetings when the circumstances require it.
The mandate of the current College officially ends in October 2024.