The Dutch government will nominate outgoing Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra as an EU commissioner, caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Thursday (24 August), confirming media reports.
Hoekstra would replace Frans Timmermans, who quit on Tuesday to lead the Labour and Green Left parties in a joint ticket in Dutch national elections in November.
Dutch snap election: Polls suggest swing to centre-left under Timmermans
The alliance of Dutch centre-left PvdA (S&D Group) and GroenLinks (Greens) parties has taken the lead in polls in the Netherlands after joining forces ahead of the upcoming November national parliament snap election, according to Europe Elects’ latest analysis.
“After consultations within the government and with the president of the European Commission, I have decided to put forward Wopke Hoekstra as candidate for the European Commission,” Rutte said in a statement.
Hoekstra was Dutch finance minister from 2017 until early 2022, when he was appointed as foreign minister in a new government.
That administration collapsed last month as it failed to reach an agreement on stricter immigration policies and Hoekstra had said he would not run again in the upcoming elections.
The new Dutch EU commissioner, who will need to pass a hearing in the European Parliament, is expected to handle climate change policies in the European Commission, and represent the 27-country EU at this year’s United Nations climate summit in November.
His candidacy is expected to be formally decided during the caretaker government’s weekly meeting on Friday.
The new Bulgarian commissioner Iliana Ivanova will also pass a parliamentary hearing in early autumn. When her predecessor Mariya Gabriel left the EU executive for Bulgarian politics, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen asked two candidacies, one of them being a woman.
Von der Leyen chooses ‘woman from EPP’ as Bulgarian commissioner
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has chosen a woman from her own political force, the EPP, to replace Mariya Gabriel until the end of the college term in late 2024.
Iliana Ivanova, a member of the European Court of …
(Edited by Georgi Gotev)
Read more with EURACTIV
Blazes rage on in Greece during country’s worst summer for firesPowerful winds, high temperatures and dry weather continue to fuel Greek wildfires, destroying properties and natural habitats, while political questions are being raised over the effectiveness of fire prevention and mitigation measures.
Source: euractiv.com
