LETTER FROM BRUSSELS
The countdown has now begun. Since Tuesday 17 September, the twenty-six European Commissioners of the new college of the Community executive chaired by Ursula von der Leyen have known their respective portfolios. They now have no more time to lose in preparing their parliamentary hearings.
The Commissioners-designate must begin to form their cabinets, diversifying geographical and gender profiles in particular – the teams must include at least five different nationalities – but above all they must prepare for their appearance in the European Parliament, which is currently slow to set the exact dates for these meetings. The hearings could be held between mid-October and mid-November. They therefore have just under a month left to take charge of the files and refine their arguments.
The twenty-six designated commissioners are not all in the same boat, however. While the French Stéphane Séjourné and the Slovenian Marta Kos were chosen at the last minute, Kaja Kallas, the former Estonian Prime Minister, who will be vice-president of the college as head of European diplomacy, was designated by the Member States on 27 June.
She had two more months to prepare to succeed the Spaniard Josep Borrell. In fact, as a courtesy, the latter went to Tallinn for two days in July to discuss with his successor all the pitfalls of this role of High Representative/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) which is so difficult to master. Kaja Kallas also met Federica Mogherini, the Spaniard's predecessor.
“She gets straight to the point”
Since mid-August, the 47-year-old former lawyer has settled in Brussels and has been meeting a lot of people. “It's simple, whether in Brussels or Strasbourg, we come across her everywhere in the corridors of Parliament”confides Nathalie Loiseau, Renew MEP. “The priority is to make contacts, interviews will come after his confirmation”is how Kaja Kallas's entourage explains to justify that beyond a few posts on the social network X, she avoids exposing herself to the media.
In Parliament, she met the president of the institution, Roberta Metsola, all the political groups, and held numerous one-on-one meetings with MEPs. “She is very well prepared”confirms Nathalie Loiseau. She leaves nothing to chance, discussing with each person their immediate points of interest. Before each meeting, she studies her meticulously prepared briefs.
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Source: Lemonde
