Between 4 and 12 November, each of the 26 Commissioners-designate has appeared before the various European Parliament (EP) committees for hearings, a key step in their confirmation process set to culminate on 27 November with an EP plenary vote on the College of Commissioners as a whole. Analysts do not expect the fragmented Parliament to vote any Commissioner down, reflecting a fragile status quo between the different political groups comprising it.

The exercise nonetheless remains an important occasion for the Commissioners-designate to reassure members of Parliament by demonstrating their knowledge of assigned portfolios and presenting the priorities and direction of their mandates. Dan Jørgensen, Commissioner-designate for Energy and Housing; Jessika Roswall, Commissioner-designate for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy; and Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research, and Innovation, were among the first to be questioned on 5 November, followed by Wopke Hoekstra, Commissioner-designate for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, on 7 November. Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President (EVP) for a Clean, Just, and Competitive Transition, and Stéphane Séjourné, EVP for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, were still undergoing their hearings at the time of writing.

Jørgensen, Zaharieva, Roswall, and Hoekstra all received the green light from the committees that interviewed them. Jørgensen, who pledged to increase support for renewables and green hydrogen while ensuring adherence to the principle of technology neutrality, appealed to a wide range of policymakers. He reiterated the EU’s ambitions to ban Russian energy imports and committed to implementing a citizen-first approach, notably by working to reduce energy prices, tackling energy poverty, and addressing the housing crisis. Concerning industry, he agreed on the need to accelerate permitting and cut red tape. The main contentious point involved his sceptical view of nuclear energy, which is supported by many member states across the EU. However, he acknowledged member states’ freedom in choosing their energy mix and the current role of nuclear energy in the Union.

At the start of her opening speech, Zaharieva highlighted the role of research and innovation (R&I) in the European competitiveness agenda, expressing the ambitious objective of placing R&I at the centre of EU policies. Among her main points, she underlined the need to simplify the EU’s R&I programmes, making it a key goal of the upcoming Innovation Act. She also discussed financing extensively, urging member states to finally reach the target of spending 3% of their GDP on R&I. In response to Green MEP Ville Niinistö, she endorsed the current target of 35% spending on climate in the Framework Programme, Horizon Europe, as per its strategic plan. The discussion also addressed the importance of fostering attractive research careers and improving research infrastructure in order to reverse the “brain drain,” and of developing a measured approach with international partners balancing strategic autonomy and cooperation, as well as increasing defence funding apart from the framework programme, to protect civilian research priorities.

Roswall, on her part, faced challenging questions from Parliament on biodiversity, circularity, and climate adaptation, delivering a performance deemed disappointing by MEPs, who criticised her lack of expertise. They postponed their decision on her confirmation before ultimately approving her as part of a political agreement between some of Parliament’s largest groups.

During his hearing, returning Climate Chief Wopke Hoekstra notably underscored the importance of ambitious climate action while fostering competitiveness and advancing the just transition, pledging to enshrine the 90% carbon emissions reduction target by 2040 in EU climate legislation. Teresa Ribera and Stéphane Séjourné’s hearings, to be held on 12 November, will undoubtedly be closely scrutinised, given their overarching roles in overseeing competition, industry, and the green transition in the new Commission’s structure. Following the EP plenary vote on the entire College on 27 November, the new College of Commissioners is finally set to take office on 1 December, one month after the initially planned date.