By radically changing the rules, the Commission wants to address “strategic dependencies” on foreign countries and boost the kind of pan-European industrial revival championed by former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi in his landmark competitiveness report. The third and fourth pillars focus on enlargement and funding to foreign countries, and personnel costs, but there are … Read more
The fight over the budget, known as the multiannual financial framework (MFF), will be “almost impossible,” one EU diplomat, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said. The role “will be one of the hardest in this next European Commission,” the diplomat continued. “But he’s the right guy for the job – he knows his stuff, he … Read more
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. … Read more
The deadline for putting forward names for the next European Commission is the end of August. With that date approaching fast, and now that Ursula von der Leyen is back from her summer holiday in Germany, here are the nominees so far (remember that all of them, except for von der Leyen herself, need to … Read more
