The future EU commissioners’ promises: Everything you need to know

Call it the evaluation before the job interview.

Ahead of the aspiring commissioners facing a grilling from the European Parliament in early November, they must respond to lawmakers’ written questions.

And the answers are in.

Many of the incoming top brass are new to the Brussels’ policymaking machine. The written answers, in theory at least, are an opportunity to share their vision of their upcoming roles.

Don’t get too excited though. 

The majority of commissioner nominees rehashed previous statements from various Brussels institutions, whether from the political guidelines of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen or the so-called mission letters that she sent to her future commissioners. The answers were also partly written by the Commission’s civil servants, who have crafted and executed EU policies for decades. 

The real test will be facing unexpected questions from European lawmakers when commissioner nominees can no longer rely on advisers to whisper the answers. 

Still, the written answers give some indications to how the newcomers want to set the tone or change direction — which makes them worth combing through. 

And POLITICO got stuck into more than 400 pages of written answers so you don’t have to.

Here are our key takeaways. 

Maria Luís Albuquerque

Portugal’s Maria Luís Albuquerque, the commissioner candidate for financial services and the Savings and Investments Union, said the bloc must “not roll back” global bank capital standards — the so-called Basel III accords, which aimed to make the financial system safer following the 2008 global financial crisis — and “must implement the rules,” pushing back against calls from EU countries to scrap some elements of existing regulation.

Albuquerque, who will answer questions from European Parliament lawmakers at her confirmation hearing on Nov. 6, said in written responses to MEPs’ questions that the EU is “giving banks ample time to adapt to the new rules.”

Valdis Dombrovskis

Latvia’s Valdis Dombrovskis, the commissioner candidate for economy, productivity, implementation and simplification, gave his strongest support yet for conditions to be attached to European Union funding in the next budget, saying the bloc may draw inspiration from the successful linking of investment and reform within its pandemic recovery fund.

His remarks formed part of his written answers to European lawmakers ahead of his Nov. 7 confirmation hearing in the European Parliament, and follow a similar push from von der Leyen.

Christophe Hansen

Luxembourg’s Christophe Hansen, the commissioner candidate for agriculture and food, said the European Commission won’t publish a flagship framework law on sustainable food systems, in written answers ahead of his grilling by lawmakers on Nov. 4.

“Rather than new legislative proposals, we can achieve our objectives by better implementing and enforcing existing legislation while using incentives and new market-based tools to promote change,” Hansen said in reply to a question on whether the EU’s executive would propose the framework next year.

Costas Kadis

Cyprus’ Costas Kadis, the commissioner candidate for fisheries and oceans, made it clear he won’t compromise on environmental protection ahead of his Nov. 6 confirmation hearing.

In his role, Kadis will have the delicate task of balancing the interests of the EU’s fishing industry with those of imperiled ocean biodiversity — which are often diametrically opposed. Kadis, who has a background in biology, said his “top priority” was to “ensure that the fishing and aquaculture sectors remain sustainable, competitive and resilient.”

Hadja Lahbib

Belgium’s Hadja Lahbib, the commissioner candidate for preparedness, crisis management and equality, dodged MEPs’ questions over the future of the Health Emergency and Response Authority (HERA) and hinted funding for health crisis planning could be hard to come by, ahead of her hearing on Nov. 6.

MEPs asked whether she foresaw an expansion of HERA’s capacity and how she would manage financing issues that have already affected its work. In her statement Lahbib didn’t answer directly but said she would draw on HERA’s expertise for the EU preparedness strategy and for the Critical Medicines Act.

Teresa Ribera

Spain’s Teresa Ribera, the executive vice president candidate for the clean, just and competitive transition, promised “swift and effective state aid” to back the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal, pitching public funds as a way to unlock private sector investments in “considerable” decarbonization costs, she told the European Parliament ahead of her Nov. 12 confirmation hearing.

The Clean Industrial Deal — a bill to help companies meet the EU’s ambitious carbon-cutting targets and boost climate-friendly technologies — is one of Ribera’s top agenda items. The EU has vowed to release the legislation within 100 days of Ribera taking office.

Jessika Roswall

Sweden’s Jessika Roswall, the commissioner candidate for environment, water resilience and a competitive circular economy, stressed her commitment to the farming, forestry and bioeconomy industries ahead of her hearing on Nov. 5.

In doing so, the lawyer-by-trade and former European affairs minister made it clear the European Commission’s green agenda will no longer take priority over support for the agricultural sector — addressing what became one of the biggest controversies of the last mandate.

Stéphane Séjourné

France’s Stéphane Séjourné, the executive vice president candidate for prosperity and industrial strategy, said that the European Commission will thoroughly assess the way it scrutinizes foreign subsidies impacting takeover deals and public procurement in the EU.

He commits to a review of the implementation of the rules in responses submitted ahead of his confirmation hearing on Nov. 12 and highlights the “appropriateness of the level of the notification thresholds.” He also says that Brussels will come up with a possible legislative proposal depending on the outcome of this review, as planned in the text of the regulation.

Olivér Várhelyi

Hungary’s Olivér Várhelyi, the commissioner candidate for health and animal welfare, was opaque on pushing ahead with front-of-pack labels in written answers to MEPs on how to tackle ever-rising rates of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease, ahead of his hearing on Nov. 6.

While he acknowledged that mandatory food information “can help consumers to make healthier consumer choices,” he nonetheless favors a “comprehensive approach” (EU-speak for nonlegislative measures). This could signal a line in the sand over stalled European Commission proposals to introduce front-of-pack health labels for all foods in Europe, as well as for alcoholic drinks.

Henna Virkkunen

Finland’s Henna Virkkunen, the executive vice president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, plans to introduce legislation to foster the development of artificial intelligence models and attract investments in AI infrastructure.

Such a plan should “replicate the ambition of the EU Chips Act,” the Finnish Commission nominee said, referring to the bloc’s €43 billion plan to boost the manufacturing of microchips.

Ekaterina Zaharieva

Bulgaria’s Ekaterina Zaharieva, the commissioner candidate for startups, research and innovation — who is also tasked with leading the EU life sciences strategy — only briefly mentioned the hotly anticipated proposal ahead of her hearing on Nov. 5.

But in her nine-page replies to the questions posed by MEPs, published Tuesday night, Zaharieva only said she will “engage with the relevant players to develop a Strategy for European Life Sciences, which will cover also biotechnology … (to) support a faster green and digital transition.”

Helen Collis, Rory O’Neill, Claudia Chiappa, Aude van den Hove, Francesca Micheletti, Camille Gijs, Leonie Cater, Marianne Gros, Louise Guillot and Pieter Haeck contributed to this report.