The new European Commission will have a separate Commissioner for Defence and Defense. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced this during a security conference in Prague. This new function will focus primarily on the joint development and production of military equipment within the EU, and emphatically not on NATO military operations.
The selection of the new Commissioners will be a complex process, in which von der Leyen will have to try to find an agreement on the distribution of the commissioners. This agreement must concern not only the individuals themselves, but also the allocation of specific portfolios and the balanced representation of different political parties.
Although Von der Leyen has the final responsibility, the Prime Ministers of the EU countries have a large informal influence on the distribution of portfolios in advance. Ultimately, the European Parliament must approve the proposed Commissioners and the division of tasks.
One of the biggest hurdles for von der Leyen is her quest for a gender-balanced Commission. In 2019, she succeeded in achieving a gender-balanced Commission for the first time, but that now seems much more difficult. Although she had asked member states to nominate both a male and a female candidate, most countries submitted only one male candidate. This risks skewing the gender balance.
Countries nominating their current Commissioner for reappointment did not have to submit a second candidate, further limiting the number of women nominated. In addition, a number of countries have expressed strong preferences for specific portfolios, particularly within the economic-financial corner, further complicating the negotiations.
Another portfolio that receives a lot of attention is that of Agriculture. This portfolio traditionally goes to a smaller EU country and is often seen as one of the less attractive items, but nevertheless plays a crucial role in the distribution of subsidies and regulations within the EU.
This year, Luxembourg minister Christophe Hansen, a member of the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), appears to be the leading candidate for the position. Hansen is one of the few who has openly expressed his interest in the post, making him a likely choice.