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No white smoke yet over Belgian candidate for European Commissioner

by AI | 30.Aug 2024 | Europe in brief AI

Belgium is one of the last countries to nominate a candidate for the European Commissioner. The political parties that need to make the decision have finally discussed the issue, but a decision has not been made yet.

Didier Reynders has been European Commissioner for the past five years. Can he remain in office? - Photo: Carlos Luján / Europa Press

It is still not clear who Belgium will put forward as a candidate for European Commissioner. The five political parties that want to form a new government together met on Thursday to discuss the nomination, but a decision has still not been made.

Because the European Parliament elections in Belgium coincided with the federal (national) elections and the regional elections, the nomination of the Belgian European Commissioner is decided by the parties negotiating a new federal government. These currently include the Francophone parties MR and Les Engagés and the Flemish parties N-VA, Vooruit, and CD&V.

For none of these five parties is the position of European Commissioner a priority, but because Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants a candidate by the end of August, they met about it on Thursday. There is no white smoke yet, but it seems likely that the MR will be allowed to designate the candidate.

The Francophone liberals had Didier Reynders as the Commissioner for the past five years, and he still seems the most logical choice. With his experience, he could claim a significant portfolio and he has also explicitly offered himself for a new mandate.

However, Von der Leyen would like more female candidates for her Commission, and a member state that appoints a woman might also get a more significant portfolio. Therefore, the name of Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib is also circulating. Who it will ultimately be – Reynders, Lahbib, or still another candidate – should become known in the coming days or hours. (29/08/2024)