The European Commission's president-elect, Ursula von der Leyen, unveils her new team during a Sept. 10 press conference in Brussels. Under von der Leyen's leadership, the commissioners will reflect the bloc's policy priorities and ambitions for the next five years.
A new European Commission led by President Ursula von der Leyen is slated to take over in December after the European Parliament approves her team later this month. In preparation for her new post, von der Leyen has outlined a bold "geopolitical" vision that focuses on defending the European Union's interests amid growing competition among global powers like the United States and China. This entails a tougher implementation of antitrust rules and increased pressure on other countries to open up their markets to European investment, as well as new environmental standards and attempts to fix the bloc's broken immigration system. But whether the president-elect's commissioners will actually manage to follow through on her big plans once they take office next month will prove a far different story, as they'll be forced to work within the confines of the continent's increasingly divisive political climate and gloomy economic forecast.
