European Parliament reveals format for Commissioner confirmation hearings

The European Parliament revealed the format of upcoming hearings in which the commissioners designated by President Ursula von der Leyen will be grilled by MEPs before they can be confirmed in their roles.

The hearings will take place from 4 to 12 November, the Parliament announced, although the detailed schedule is yet to be finalised by the Conference of Presidents, which will meet on Thursday, 10 October. 

During the hearings, commissioners will appear before one or more parliamentary committees to demonstrate their fitness for the jobs and expertise on issues relevant to their portfolios, and address any concerns regarding potential conflicts of interest. 

Parliamentary committees may either take full responsibility for the hearings, leading the questioning process, but they may also participate in hearings by invitation, in which case they will provide a non-binding opinion afterwards. 

Committees responsible for environmental issues and industry, both key priorities for the new Commission, will be most active in the hearings. Meanwhile, the LIBE (Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs) and EMPL (Employment and Social Affairs) committees are among the most prominent invited participants. 

France’s Stéphane Séjourné – designated as industry commissioner – and Belgian candidate Hadja Lahbib both face the most committees – with each set to be grilled by four, with Séjourné also facing a further four invited committees. 

AFET – Foreign Affairs; DEVE – Development; INTA – International Trade; BUDG – Budgets; CONT – Budgetary Control; ECON – Economic and Monetary Affairs; EMPL – Employment and Social Affairs; ENVI – Environment, Public Health and Food Safety; ITRE – Industry, Research and Energy; IMCO – Internal Market and Consumer Protection; TRAN – Transport and Tourism; REGI – Regional Development; AGRI – Agriculture and Rural Development; PECH – Fisheries; CULT – Culture and Education; JURI – Legal Affairs; LIBE – Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs; AFCO – Constitutional Affairs; FEMM – Women’s Rights and Gender Equality. 

The committee responsible for legal affairs, JURI, began its work today analysing declarations of conflicts of interest and will deliver its opinion on 18 October. This green light from JURI, along with the designated commissioners’ responses to written questions from the MEPs, are prerequisites for the start of the hearings.

The European Parliament has indicated that, if the process remains on schedule, the new composition of the Commission could be approved during the plenary session slated for 25 to 28 November – but since some of the candidates are expected to face challenging hearings this timeline is considered optimistic.