Confirmed in office

Von der Leyen makes first demand of EU member states

Ursula von der Leyen has been elected for another five years as head of the EU Commission.(Bild: APA/AFP/FREDERICK FLORIN)

Following her re-election as head of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen can now begin to put together her Commission together with the EU member states. She has already made one major request: The governments should each present two candidates - one woman and one man - for the post of EU Commissioner. However, there should be exceptions for a few states.

The German politician's goal is an equal distribution of male and female Commissioners. Von der Leyen is therefore likely to ask the government in Vienna in the coming weeks to put forward two candidates, whom she will then interview. The EU Commissioner for Austria, Johannes Hahn, who has been in office since 2010, is not seeking a further term of office. Until now, Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) has been seen as a promising candidate, having already met von der Leyen in Vienna in June.

Previously, European Affairs Minister Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP) was considered a possible candidate for the Commissioner's post. NEOS and the Greens had also recently brought ex-ÖVP MEP and EP Vice-President Othmar Karas into play. 

Ursula von der Leyen has been elected for another five years as head of the EU Commission.(Bild: APA/AFP/FREDERICK FLORIN)

This is how the selection of candidates works in Austria
The domestic procedure in Austria is that the Federal Chancellor first requests consultations with the Presidium of the National Council. This is followed by a decision by the Council of Ministers and finally a "formal agreement" in the EU Main Committee, for which the candidate requires a majority. Only then is the nomination of the Commissioner-designate formally communicated to the EU Council Secretariat.

The nominated team from all member states must then face a hearing in the EU Parliament in the fall. In the past, it was quite common for individual Commissioner candidates to be rejected by MEPs and for the countries concerned to have to nominate a new candidate.