Commissioner hearing of Hadja Lahbib scheduled for 6 November
Belgian Foreign minister Hadja Lahbib will be questioned by MEPs on her candidacy for the post of European commissioner on 6 November. Dates have also been announced for the hearings of all other commissioners-designate.
The exact calendar of the hearings, which will take place between 4 and 12 November, was announced on Thursday. MEPs will question 26 commissioners-designate on their future roles.
Belgian candidate Hadja Lahbib has been put forward by Commission president Ursula von der Leyen as commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management and Equality. Her hearing will start on Wednesday 6 November at 9.00.
Three hour hearing
Lahbib will be questioned for three hours by members of four different committees, including the Development Committee and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.
The high number of committees scheduled to grill Lahbib has to do with the powers assigned to her, which do not perfectly match the European Parliament's committee structure.
The most crucial day of the hearings will be 12 November, when the five proposed executive vice-presidents and High Representative and Vice-President Kaja Kallas will be questioned.
Close scrutiny
After the hearings, the suitability of the candidates will be assessed, a process which should be completed on 21 November. The plenary of the Parliament will then vote on the appointment of the Commission in the week of 25 November, allowing von der Leyen's new team to take office on 1 December.
The appointment process could be delayed, however, if one or more candidates perform poorly. It will be particularly interesting to see whether Italian candidate Raffaele Fitto and Hungarian candidate Oliver Varhelyi can convince MEPs.
Lahbib could also face close scrutiny, as her track record is not without controversy. In July 2022, her appointment as Belgian Foreign minister sparked a diplomatic row when it emerged that she had visited Crimea on a Russian visa as a journalist the previous year.
Belgian Foreign minister Hadja Lahbib © PHOTO JOHN THYS / POOL / AFP
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