3. Von der Leyen crowns herself the winner on gender despite lack of balance
Von der Leyen’s month-long struggle to get a gender-balanced European Commission did not lead to an equal number of men and women on her team, despite her pressure on countries to send one male and one female candidate from each country. Some were even asked to swap out candidates after the August deadline. There are now 11 women in the European Commission (including von der Leyen).
To turn around the narrative, von der Leyen looked for a different balance in her top team, the executive vice presidents. That layer consists of four women and two men, which allowed von der Leyen to give herself a pat on the back — but it’s not over yet. The European Parliament still has to grill and approve the future commissioners.
4. The south clinches key economic portfolios
Southern countries fared well in von der Leyen’s selection, snatching up a number of highly sought-after economic portfolios. Italy will be in charge of the EU’s vast cohesion fund wallet, Portugal will be in charge of financial services (a key job amid a push to reform the EU’s capital markets), while Spain’s Teresa Ribera will get oversight of the EU’s powerful competition enforcement tools.
France often acts as a bridge between the bloc’s southern and northern factions and it will be in charge of industrial policy and “prosperity.” This involves executing von der Leyen’s push to make the EU more competitive on the world stage through increased investment and smarter regulation.
The new structure gives southern states an important role in the bloc’s competitiveness push. That said, the concerns of more frugal countries haven’t been totally dismissed: Poland’s Piotr Serafin, seen as sympathetic to the more frugal north, is in charge of the key budget portfolio.
5. Von der Leyen keeps Meloni close
The Italian nominee Raffaele Fitto gets an executive vice presidency and will be responsible for cohesion and reforms. That’s despite protests by the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), liberal Renew Europe, Greens and The Left, who have railed against the idea of giving such a high-profile role to a member of the Brothers of Italy, a hard-right party.
Renew group chief Valérie Hayer has called Fitto’s nomination to an EVP role “unacceptable,” while the socialists have gone as far as threatening to withdraw support from von der Leyen’s college, although it remains to be seen if the threats will be followed up with action.
Fitto’s appointment is a win for Giorgia Meloni, who hasn’t suffered any payback over her decision not to support von der Leyen’s reelection. A former Europe minister in Meloni’s cabinet, Fitto is seen as a moderate voice in the prime minister’s camp. Both cohesion and reforms are important files for Italy, although the key economic heavy-weight portfolios ended up with France and Spain.
