Schedule: commissioner candidate hearings in Parliament
Parliament’s committees will assess the fitness of the commissioners-designate for their proposed posts during public hearings. Watch them live online.
On 19 September, the Conference of Presidents, made up of President David Sassoli and the political group leaders, approved the agenda of the hearings (all times are CET):
| Commissioner | Assigned portfolio | Responsible committees | Associated committees | |
| Monday 30 September | ||||
| 14.30 - 17.30 | Maroš Šefčovič (Slovakia) | Interinstitutional relations and foresight | Constitutional affairs/legal affairs | Petitions/Industry, research and energy |
| 18.30 -21.30 | Phil Hogan (Ireland) | Trade | International trade | |
| Mariya Gabriel (Bulgaria) | Innovation and youth | Industry, research and energy/culture and education | ||
| Tuesday 1 October | ||||
| 9.00-12.00 | Nicolas Schmit (Luxembourg) | Jobs | Employment | Economic affairs |
| Jutta Urpilainen (Finland) | International partnerships | Development | ||
| 14.30-17.30 | Janusz Wojciechowski (Poland) | Agriculture | Agriculture | Environment |
| Ylva Johansson (Sweden) | Home affairs | Civil liberties, justice and home affairs | ||
| 18.30-21.30 | Stella Kyriakides (Cyprus) | Health | Environment | Agriculture |
| Wednesday 2 October | ||||
| 9.00-12.00 | Didier Reynders (Belgium) | Justice | Civil liberties, justice and home affairs/legal affairs | Internal market and consumer protection |
| 14.30-17.30 | Helena Dalli (Malta) | Equality | Gender equality/employment | Civil liberties, justice and home affairs |
| Sylvie Goulard (France) | Internal market | Internal market and consumer protection/industry, research and energy | Legal affairs/culture and education | |
| 18.30-21.30 | Elisa Ferreira (Portugal) | Cohesion and reforms | Regional development | Budgets/economic affairs |
| Janez Lenarčič (Slovenia) | Crisis management | Development | Environment | |
| Thursday 3 October | ||||
| 9.00-12.00 | Paolo Gentiloni (Italy) | Economy | Economic affairs | Budgets/employment |
| Kadri Simson (Estonia) | Energy | Industry, research and energy | Environment | |
| 14.30-17.30 | Virginijus Sinkevičius (Lithuania) | Environment and oceans | Fisheries/environment | |
| Johannes Hahn (Austria) | Budget and administration | Budgets/budgetary controls | Legal affairs | |
| 18.30-21.30 | Margaritis Schinas (Greece) | Protecting our European way of life | Civil liberties, justice and home affairs/culture and education | Employment |
| Dubravka Šuica (Croatia) | Democracy and demography. | Constitutional affairs | Employment | |
| Monday 7 October | ||||
| 14.30-17.30 | Věra Jourová (Czech Republic) | Values and transparency | Constitutional affairs/civil liberties, justice and home affairs | Legal affairs |
| Josep Borrell (Spain) | EU foreign policy chief | Foreign affairs | ||
| Tuesday 8 October | ||||
| 9.00-12.00 | Valdis Dombrovskis (Latvia) | Financial services | Economic affairs/employment | Budgets |
| 14.30-17.30 | Margrethe Vestager (Denmark) | Competition | Industry, research and energy/internal market and consumer protection/economic affairs | Legal affairs |
| 18.30-21.30 | Frans Timmermans (Netherlands) | European Green Deal | Environment | Industry, research and energy/transport |
As three of the candidates were withdrawn, there were additional hearings on Thursday 14 November:
|
Commissioner |
Assigned portfolio |
Responsible committees |
Associated committees |
|
|
Thursday 14 November |
||||
|
08.00-11.00 |
Olivér Várhelyi (Hungary), |
Neighbourhood and enlargement |
Foreign affairs |
|
|
13.00-16.00 |
Adina-Ioana Vălean (Romania) |
Transport |
Transport and tourism |
|
|
13.00-16.00 |
Thierry Breton (France) |
Internal market |
Internal market and consumer protection; industry, research and energy |
Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen announced the portfolios of her proposed College of Commissioners on 10 September.
The nominees are decided by the President-elect and national governments. They must each be assessed by the European Parliament committees covering the portfolio for which they have been proposed, before the Parliament votes on the Commission as a whole.
MEPs will assess if each nominee is fit for the position proposed and ready to deliver on the programme that von der Leyen outlined to Parliament in July. Each hearing will last three hours and be streamed live.
Next steps
After the hearings, the committees prepare evaluation letters on the candidates. Parliament is then expected to vote on the new Commission as a whole. Find out more detail about the process in our infographic.
