5 takeaways on Ursula von der Leyen’s new Commission

A warning to Vladimir Putin. Powerful jobs for women. Answered prayers for Europe’s not-exactly-frugal southern countries, which will have a bigger say over the bloc’s economic policy than they did before.

Those are some of the main highlights from Ursula von der Leyen’s new team of European commissioners, unveiled on Tuesday after months of waiting, controversy and last-minute changes.

The German politician managed to present a nearly gender-balanced team of top officials despite the fact that EU countries had originally sent only a handful of women for the 26 roles. Her last-minute wrangling led to some controversy, not least the fact that Slovenia’s choice is still held up in a domestic parliamentary procedure. But in the end, 40 percent of the roles have gone to women.

As the European Parliament prepares to grill the commissioners, one from each of the member countries apart from Germany (because von der Leyen is its commissioner) in hearings starting in October, POLITICO zooms in on the five key points to retain from this unveiling:

1. This is bad news for Vladimir Putin 

If Moscow needed a reminder that Brussels is still behind Kyiv, it got one today. 

Ursula von der Leyen has been a strong advocate for backing Ukraine in its war against Russia, and that is reflected in her puzzle for the second term. Two nominees from the Baltics get key portfolios in handling the relationship with Russia. In addition to Estonian Kaja Kallas being the EU’s foreign policy chief, Lithuanian Andrius Kubilius will be in charge of the newly created defense portfolio. Kubilius will report to Finland’s commissioner, Executive Vice President for Tech, Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkkunen. Helsinki is one of Russia’s toughest critics in Europe. 

The next five years will be key to preparing a widening of the bloc to welcome Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans. Therefore, the enlargement portfolio is split into two, so that one commissioner can focus primarily on enlargement, and the other can focus on Europe’s interests in the Mediterranean — namely economic development and controlling migration. The Slovenian commissioner, Marta Kos, will be in charge of enlargement. 

2. Von der Leyen keeps control over the money (and, well, everything else)

In one of Brussels’ worst-kept secrets, the key budget portfolio goes to Poland’s Piotr Serafin. The bloc is gearing up for an epic fight over its next seven-year spending plan where each country wants to see its own priorities reflected. 

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk had a good negotiating hand in the portfolio game as his is the biggest European People’s Party-led country (von der Leyen’s own political family) and he helped von der Leyen clinch a second term. Serafin will report directly to von der Leyen instead of to one of the executive vice presidents, giving her direct control over the budget — just in case there was any doubt about who’s really in charge of this European Commission.

3. Von der Leyen crowns herself the winner on gender despite lack of balance

Von der Leyen’s monthlong struggle to get a gender-balanced European Commission did not lead to an equal number of men and women on her team, despite her pressure on countries to send one male and one female candidate from each country. Some were even asked to swap out candidates after the August deadline. There are now 11 women in the European Commission (including von der Leyen). 

To turn around the narrative, von der Leyen looked for a different balance in her top team, the executive vice presidents. That layer consists of four women and two men, which allowed von der Leyen to give herself a pat on the back — but it’s not over yet. The European Parliament still has to grill and approve the future commissioners. 

4. The south clinches key economic portfolios 

Southern countries fared well in von der Leyen’s selection, snatching up a number of highly sought-after economic portfolios. Italy will be in charge of the EU’s vast cohesion fund wallet, Portugal will be in charge of financial services (a key job amid a push to reform the EU’s capital markets), while Spain’s Teresa Ribera will get oversight of the EU’s powerful competition enforcement tools.

France often acts as a bridge between the bloc’s southern and northern factions and it will be in charge of industrial policy and “prosperity.” This involves executing von der Leyen’s push to make the EU more competitive on the world stage through increased investment and smarter regulation.

The new structure gives southern states an important role in the bloc’s competitiveness push. That said, the concerns of more frugal countries haven’t been totally dismissed: Poland’s Serafin, seen as sympathetic to the more frugal north, is in charge of the key budget portfolio.

5. Von der Leyen keeps Meloni close

The Italian nominee Raffaele Fitto gets an executive vice presidency and will be responsible for cohesion and reforms. That’s despite protests by the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), liberal Renew Europe, Greens and The Left, who have railed against the idea of giving such a high-profile role to a member of the Brothers of Italy, a hard-right party.

Renew group chief Valérie Hayer has called Fitto’s nomination to an EVP role “unacceptable,” while the Socialists have gone as far as threatening to withdraw support from von der Leyen’s College, although it remains to be seen if the threats will be followed up with action.

Fitto’s appointment is a win for Giorgia Meloni, who hasn’t suffered any payback over her decision not to support von der Leyen’s reelection. A former Europe minister in Meloni’s Cabinet, Fitto is seen as a moderate voice in the prime minister’s camp. Both cohesion and reforms are important files for Italy, although the key economic heavy-weight portfolios ended up with France and Spain.