Von der Leyen pushes for Nov. 1 European Commission start date

BRUSSELS — Ursula von der Leyen on Friday insisted that the start date of the new European Commission should be Nov. 1, according to two EU officials, after days of chaos and confusion around its start.

The mandate of the current College of Commissioners expires at the end of October but the kick-off date for the next European Commission appeared to be slipping, with Dec. 1 looking like a more likely start date.

Before the new commissioners can take office they must all be grilled and approved in a single vote by the European Parliament as part of a lengthy, complex process. Von der Leyen has so far been unable to present a full list of her top team, largely due to a political spat in Slovenia that is delaying the official nomination of its candidate, Marta Kos.

Consensus has been building around holding the hearings of new commissioners between Nov. 4 and 12, allowing the Commission to take office on Dec. 1, as Brussels Playbook reported.

But on Friday, von der Leyen put pressure on the Parliament to revert to its earlier timetable and hold the hearings in the week of Oct. 14.

“The EU needs to be ready, up and running after the U.S. elections, to work with the incoming transition team and be able to play its full part on the world stage in geopolitics,” said one of the EU officials. The official, like the others quoted in the story, was granted anonymity to speak candidly about a sensitive and fast changing situation.

Eric Mamer, the chief spokesperson of the Commission, said: “We did inform the [European Parliament] for the hearings to take place in October.”

A Parliament official, who insisted the institution was ready and waiting for the Commission, said: “The timetable is set by the EP and nobody else, I don’t think there’s any gain in putting the Parliament under pressure. The Parliament will do its scrutiny role and take it seriously.”

Mamer told journalists that the “intention” is for von der Leyen to attend a closed-door meeting of senior MEPs in Strasbourg on Tuesday and present her new College of Commissioners to them.

However, it is unclear whether she will be able to attach names to portfolios, because of the situation in Slovenia.

“It’s a long time until Tuesday,” Mamer told journalists.