First picks for Commissioner portfolios revealed, Italy’s far right to get economy

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has made her first picks for her top team, with the key economy vice-president job going to Italy's far-right nominee, German newspaper Die Welt reported Tuesday (3 September).

Von der Leyen, who secured a second term as commission chief in July, is expected to unveil her proposed lineup following a Friday deadline for states to name their nominees.

Die Welt, citing senior EU diplomats and European Commission insiders, said she is set to give Raffaele Fitto from the far-right Brothers of Italy party the executive vice-president portfolio in charge of the economy and post-pandemic recovery.

Italy was one of the last countries to nominate its commissioner. Currently Fitto is Rome's minister for European affairs.

Brothers of Italy sit in the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR).

Raffaele Fitto proposed as Italy’s new EU Commissioner

Italian Minister for European Affairs and head of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Raffaele Fitto, has been nominated by his government to his country’s new European Commissioner.

The job would oversee how the bloc's pandemic recovery fund worth hundreds of billions of euros is deployed.

Others to be named EU vice presidents include Valdis Dombrovskis (EPP), from Latvia and currently EU's trade chief. His role will be EU expansion and Ukraine reconstruction, according to the report.

France's Thierry Breton (Renew), the bloc's internal market commissioner, will take on industry and strategic autonomy according to Die Welt.

Spain's Environment Minister Teresa Ribera (S&D) has been chosen for a "transition" portfolio which will include ecology and digital affairs.

The nominee for the EU's foreign policy chief, Estonia's outgoing leader Kaja Kallas (ALDE), will also be named an executive vice president.

Each European member state put forward nominees for von der Leyen's 26-person team.

Slovakia's Maroš Šefčovič (S&D), currently an executive vice president, is set to remain as a commissioner in charge of inter-institutional affairs.

Czech Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Sikela (independent) will be in charge of energy, while Poland's ambassador to the EU, Piotr Serafin, will handle budgetary issues.

After the Commission president names her line-up, the candidates undergo confirmation hearings in the European Parliament in September and October.

(Edited by Georgi Gotev)