Scrutiny time: a recap of the first week of commissioner hearings

The vetting of president-elect Jean-Claude Juncker's team by Parliament's committees commenced on Monday 29 September. 21 of the 27 commissioners-designate have now been heard by MEPs who had the opportunity to quiz the candidates on their competence and expertise for the portfolios assigned to them. Read our summary here of what has happened thus far.

The UK's Jonathan Hill has been assigned responsibility for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union in the Juncker Commission. He was heard by the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on 1 October. Commissioner-designate for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan had his turn the following day.

The hearings of commissioners-designate continue until 7 October. Six nominees still have to participate in hearings and answer questions from MEPs.

All hearings are streamed live on the Parliament's website.

You can also use the hashtag #EPhearings2014 to find the latest comments and reactions on Twitter.

Before the hearings: candidate commissioners must provide answers to written questions from MEPs. The answers to these questions can be found on this page, by clicking on the name of the commissioner.

At the start of the hearing the candidate can make a speech of a maximum 15 minutes, followed by a question and answer session. The three-hour hearings are organised by the EP committees dealing with the candidates' portfolios with the aim of assessing their general competences, European commitment and specific expertise.

Sitting in plenary, the Parliament has to approve the Commission as a whole before it can start its work.

However, in the past it has happened that following a negative assessment in the hearings, candidates were withdrawn by their respective countries or portfolios needed to be reshuffled.