Have the article read by OpenAI (Beta). Please note that AI translations may take some time to process.Strasbourg (dpa) – The new European Commission line-up is to focus on the issues of competitiveness and security, shifting away from tackling the climate crisis as the top priority.
“Last time, the topic of global warming was absolutely top,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as she presented her team of commissioner nominees at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
“The dominance of the topic is still there,” she added, mentioning recent devastating floods and wildfires. “But this time, for example, the topic of security triggered by the Russian war in Ukraine, but also the topic of competitiveness has much more impact” on the organisation of her team, von der Leyen said.
For the first time, the European Commission will have a Commissioner specifically responsible for defence issues. In her team presentation, von der Leyen proposed former Lithuanian Prime Minister and former MEP Andrius Kubilius as Commissioner for Defence and Space.
The current Dutch Commissioner for Climate Action, Wopke Hoekstra, was put forward for the post of Commissioner for Climate, Net-Zero and Clean Growth. Sweden’s former Minister for EU Affairs, Jessika Roswall, was proposed as Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy.
The College of Commissioners of the European Commission will have 27 members – one for each EU member state. This includes President von der Leyen. In order to be approved for office, the Commissioners-designate will have to undergo individual hearings in the European Parliament. (17 September)
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