On September 17, 2024, Ursula von der Leyen unveiled the lineup of her second-term European Commission. Pending European Parliament approval, the team will include 26 commissioners, with five executive vice-presidents, simplifying the structure by removing a third layer of vice-presidents. Key roles feature Teresa Ribera (Spain) as Executive Vice-President for the Clean, Just, and Competitive Transition, overseeing competition policy, and Kaja Kallas (Estonia) as High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Other notable appointments include Henna Virkkunen (Finland) for Tech Sovereignty, Stéphane Séjourné (France) for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, and Roxana Mînzatu (Romania) for People, Skills, and Preparedness.
The Commission's program, as laid out in the political guidelines presented in July 2024, aligns closely with priorities already outlined in the European Council’s Strategic Agenda from June. The first priority, “Prosperity and Competitiveness,” aims to boost European economic strength through measures to facilitate business, advance a Clean Industrial Deal for decarbonization and lower energy costs, and improve productivity with digital tech. It also emphasizes closing labor and skills gaps, reducing regulatory obstacles, and fostering a competitive and sustainable Single Market. The second priority of the guidelines, 'Defence and Security,' seeks to boost EU self-reliance in defense through enhanced investments in defense technology, cyber resilience, space defense, and the establishment of a European Air Shield. It also emphasizes closer cooperation with NATO and the creation of robust strategic infrastructure.
The guidelines are detailed further in individual “mission letters,” which assign specific tasks to each commissioner, and in the Commissioners-designate's answers to the Parliament’s written questions ahead of the hearings. Taken together, all these documents provide a more detailed idea of what the main orientations of the next legislature might look like.
The European Commission's social agenda, led by Romanian Commissioner Roxana Mînzatu, includes a renewed Action Plan for the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), which will aim to continue implementing the EPSR through a series of concrete initiatives. Other key initiatives include the Quality Jobs Roadmap to promote fair wages and safe working conditions, a roadmap for women’s rights, a pact for European social dialogue, and strategies addressing poverty, racism, gender equality, and LGBTIQ rights. However, concrete measures remain limited, including an initiative on AI in the workplace, one on mental health (including at work), one to address the harmful effects of social media on young people, and one on and telework rights, such as the right to disconnect.
However, the true measure of the new Commission’s commitment to a social Europe will be seen in broader policy and funding decisions. Key indicators will include the composition of the new Multiannual Financial Framework and the evolution of the headings (spending categories) that will result from the prioritization of the competitiveness and security priorities. Another key indicator will be the way in which the Commission implements the new fiscal rules, and the room these will leave for social investment and reforms aiming at implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights. More importantly, the decisive indicator will be how the Commission’s emphasis on competitiveness and security impacts social rights, that is how the reforms announced to implement the competitiveness and security agenda will affect workers. These elements will reveal the depth of the Commission’s commitment to a social Europe, beyond the limited number of social initiatives announced so far.
The European Parliament will hold confirmation hearings for the Commissioners-designate from November 4 to 12, 2024, allowing committees to assess each candidate’s qualifications and vision. Some nominees may face challenges, including Hungarian Olivér Várhelyi (Health and Animal Welfare), scrutinized for his ties with Hungary's controversial Prime minister Viktor Orban, and Italian Raffaele Fitto (Cohesion and Reforms), a representative of the ECR group, which did not support von der Leyen's re-election.