Today Ursula von der Leyen announced the distribution of portfolios among the Commissioners-designate, as well as the way the next European Commission will be organised. With 10 out of the 27 commissioners, the Social Democrats are now a leading force in the Commission, with more posts than any other European political family.
The leader of the S&D Group in the European Parliament, Iratxe García, said:
“The European Union is in need of profound and urgent reform, and it is very good news that Social Democrats will have the biggest weight in the new college of Commissioners. Our pressure from day one to ensure gender balance between the Commissioners has also paid off. With gender parity in the S&D team of nominated Commissioners, we have led by example."
“Our political group supported Ursula von der Leyen on the condition that she would take up our progressive agenda. That was a first step: now the second step to ensure change is having strong political figures taking responsibility of crucial portfolios such as Climate and Sustainability, Economy, Cohesion, Jobs, Home Affairs and Gender Equality. All these policy areas are at the core of the transformation Europe needs, and our team of S&D Commissioners will make sure that the next Commission delivers on its promises.
“We will keep insisting on a game-changer for Europe on three fronts: reinforcing democracy within the EU; establishing a proper EU migration and asylum policy along with renewed partnerships with neighbouring countries; and achieving an environmentally, economically and socially sustainable Europe by 2030. The leading role of Frans Timmermans will bring more horizontal coordination, coherence and efficiency for a just transition to a sustainable society. In a global world, the EU international agenda is essential to pursuing our values through strengthened multilateralism, and the new high representative Josep Borrell has the experience and the vision to deliver.
"When we hear the Commissioners-designate in the Parliament in the coming weeks we will evaluate them on the basis of their commitment and their competence to accomplish such reforms. We will make sure that they will all be up to the task in their respective policy area, keeping the UN Sustainable Development Goals as our guiding frame both for EU internal and external policies."
Note to the editors:
Below the list of the S&D candidates to the Commission and their portfolios:
Joseph Borrell (Spain): High-Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission
Frans Timmermans (Netherlands): executive vice-president for Climate Action
Maroš Šefčovič (Slovakia): vice-president for Inter-institutional Relations and Foresight
Paolo Gentiloni (Italy): Economy
Jutta Urpilainen (Finland): International Partnerships
Nicolas Schmit (Luxembourg): Jobs
Helena Dalli (Malta): Equality
Elisa Ferreira (Portugal): Cohesion and Reforms
Rovana Plumb (Romania): Transport
Ylva Johansson (Sweden): Home Affairs
More information about the S&D candidates to the Commission is available here.
