The head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has named her team, which will lead the EU's most powerful institution for the next five years. While the number of women falls short of the gender parity she aimed for, they've been handed the lion's share of top roles.
There are 11 women on the 27-member Commission team von der Leyen proposed on Tuesday, well short of the gender balance she targeted.
She said the imbalance was even worse – just 22 percent women – before she negotiated with member states for them to propose more women for the jobs.
While in a minority, women will nevertheless occupy six of the eight top positions in the new team.
Estonia's ex-premier Kaja Kallas has been named foreign policy chief and Spain's Energy and Environment Minister Teresa Ribera will lead the green transition as well as becoming the competition and anti-trust czar.
Three other women were also named as vice-presidents.
Push for gender equality stalls as men dominate nominations for EU commission
Security and competitiveness
The European Commission has the power to propose new EU laws, block mergers between companies and sign free trade deals.
Each of the bloc's 27 member states will have one seat at the Commission's table, although its political weight varies greatly depending on the portfolio.
Compared to her first five-year term, "the topic of security, triggered by the Russian war in Ukraine, but also the topic of competitiveness, have ... much more impact on the composition and the design" of her new team, von de Leyen told reporters.
Slovakia's Maros Sefcovic will oversee trade policies, while Lithuania's Andrius Kubilius will be the EU's first defence commissioner, with the new role designed to build up European military manufacturing capacity in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Poland's nominee Piotr Serafin was appointed to the powerful job of overseeing the EU's budget.
France's outgoing Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne replaces Thierry Breton in charge of industrial strategy.
Breton resigned and openly criticised von der Leyen for allegedly “questionable governance” on Monday, and Sejourné's appointment ensures France still has a strong voice in the Commission.
Macron nominates Sejourne as EU Commissioner after Breton's surprise exit
Raffaele Fitto, a member of Italy's hard-right ruling party, was named as one of six executive vice presidents, in charge of "cohesion and reforms".
Von der Leyen said the choice reflected Italy's importance within the 27-country bloc, but the move has riled centrist and leftist groups.
Italy's far-right Giorgia Meloni emerges stronger from EU vote
All candidates will undergo hearings with lawmakers in the European Parliament who have to sign off on their nomination.
The Commission is to start work on 1 November, but there is speculation that it might not get down to business before January.
(with newswires)
