04-11-2024
The hearings of the Commissioners-designate begin today 4 November and will continue until 12 November. Following their appointment by the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on 18 July, the Commissioners-designate have to appear before the relevant committees for confirmation hearings to check their suitability for the posts they have been given. MEPs will have to assess whether the Commissioners-designate have the necessary independence, skills and European commitment to serve as members of the new European Commission.
During the confirmation hearings, the Commissioners-designate must present their programmes and answer oral questions from MEPs.
Written Questions
Prior to the hearings, the candidates answered written questions prepared by the different parliamentary committees. We have analysed their answers through the lens of civil society participation. Find out about the results here.
How do the hearings work?
The hearings open with 15 minutes allocated to the candidate, who will then be questioned by committee members for around three hours (first round 40 minutes, second round 81 minutes and third round 24 minutes).
After the hearings, the committee chairs and political groups representatives meet to assess the candidates’ aptitude and prepare their evaluation letters. They must then report their conclusions to the other chairs within 24 hours.
If a Commissioner-designate is not selected, they may be withdrawn by their Member State and replaced by a new candidate in agreement with the President of the Commission. The new candidate will then have to go through all the preparatory stages and a confirmation hearing in Parliament.
On 21 November, the evaluation letters from all the Commissioners-designate will be published, followed by a vote in Parliament between 25 and 28 November to approve the new Commission.
Discover the full schedule and speaking time allocation below:
