Head of the CSV list in the European elections, was also the candidate of the CSV-DP majority for the post of European commissioner in the next European Commission.
The , with 22.91% of the votes cast and two elected members. However, the path to the commission had become somewhat obscured following pressure from German chancellor Olaf Scholz, who--in the name of an equal distribution of forces supporting Ursula von der Leyen in the European Parliament--wanted the .
This obstacle was removed on 22 August. Prime minister (CSV) officially proposed Christophe Hansen as the Luxembourg candidate, “in accordance with what was foreseen in the coalition agreement,” he commented. “With Ursula von der Leyen, we agreed that Christophe Hansen, given his experience, offered the best possible profile.”
Christophe Hansen (CSV) said on Twitter/X that he was “honoured and humbled” to have been nominated as candidate for Luxembourg’s EU commissioner. Image: Screenshot from Twitter/X
As for the portfolio that will end up in Hansen’s hands, Frieden said on 24 July that he wanted “an important portfolio.” We will have to wait until all member countries have put forward their candidates before the question of competences can be decided.
Sixteen candidates out of the 27 known
EU member states have until the end of the month to make their proposals. For the time being, it seems certain that six current commissioners will be reappointed: Thierry Breton of France, Maroš Šefčovič of Slovakia, Valdis Dombrovskis of Latvia, Wopke Hoekstra of the Netherlands, Olivér Várhelyi of Hungary and Dubravka Šuica of Croatia.
Ireland has chosen Michael McGrath (current finance minister), the Czech Republic Jozef Sikela (current finance minister), Austria Magnus Brunner (also minister of finance), Slovenia Tomaz Vesel, Greece Apóstolos Tzitzikóstas, and Malta Glenn Micallef.
Spain has nominated Teresa Ribera (minister for ecological transition), Sweden Jessika Roswall (minister for European Affairs) and Finland the MEP Henna Virkkunen.
So far, there are eleven men and five women, including Ursula von der Leyen. von der Leyen had asked each member state to put forward two candidates--one man and one woman--in the name of gender parity, but it’s a request that has gone unheeded. Including by Luxembourg, even though Frieden said at the end of July that he was prepared to grant the commission president’s wish.
Wishful thinking? “It is delicate to publicly propose two names knowing that one will ultimately be rejected. In addition, the choice of commissioners is the exclusive competence of the countries. I also note that none of the countries that proposed a candidate put forward a pair,” explains Frieden. It will be up to the European Parliament, if necessary, to rectify parity within the next commission.
Now a candidate, Hansen will have to pass an oral hearing before the European Parliament, which should take place starting in late September.
Paperjam contacted Nicolas Schmit's team for comment, who had not responded at the time of publication of this article.
This article was originally published in .