Ursula von der Leyen wants European Commission candidates by 30 August

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has asked member states to propose two candidates for the next Commission, one male and one female.

Von der Leyen has given the member states until 30 August to introduce two candidates so she can make her choices for Commissioner and have them undergo confirmation hearings in the European Parliament in September and October.

The deadline comes before formateur Bart De Wever's deadline for Belgian federal government formation. The choice of candidate will thus become the subject of negotiations in the coming months. No Flemish party is keen to take on the post, seeing more advantage in a ministerial role in the federal government, which has more visibility and therefore helps the party to score well in the next elections.

Von der Leyen has asked the capitals to put forward a man and a woman as candidate. She intends to interview them mid-August and make her pick.

"Once again, I will aim for an equal share of men and women at the... table," she said. The only exception to that would be if a country was renominating a current Commissioner. For Belgium, that means Didier Reynders could again be put forward.

Not every country is amenable to Von der Leyen's demand for two candidates, believing it would give her too much influence in the final composition of the Commission. It is therefore not certain that they will all comply.

^{#FlandersNewsService | European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen © BELGA PHOTO HATIM KAGHAT}