UPDATED: Dan Jørgensen has been appointed as the new EU Commissioner for Energy and Housing. Ursula von der Leyen announced this at a press conference in Strasbourg. Among other things, he will be tasked with bringing down energy prices and transitioning the EU to green energy.
- Dan Jørgensen will be the Commissioner for Energy and Housing. His work will help bring down energy prices. Invest in clean energy and ensure that we get out of our energy dependence. He will be the first Commissioner for Housing. He will look at all aspects from energy efficiency to construction, says von der Leyen.
Denmark thus appears to be taking on a position that is both central to the green transition and has gained even greater importance after the war in Ukraine. Here, rising energy prices and dependence on gas from Russia have focused attention on the fact that EU countries will have to become more independent and green when it comes to energy.
The post of Commissioner for Energy is currently held by Estonian Kadri Simson. During her term, the 27 EU countries reached a milestone in the first half of 2024, when 50 percent of the EU's electricity production now comes from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.
In addition, EU countries have succeeded in reducing their dependence on Russian gas. The share of Russian gas has fallen from 45 percent of the EU's total imports in 2021 to 15 percent in 2023. This means that the EU is already in the process of transitioning, which Dan Jørgensen will now continue.
To be approved
Dan Jørgensen must now go through hearings in the EU Parliament before he can be sure of getting the post. It is not yet known which committees will handle Dan Jørgensen's energy post.
Normally, the committees give the thumbs down to individual candidates, and the governments of the member states in question then present a new candidate, who must go through hearings. The entire EU Commission must then be approved by a joint vote in the EU Parliament.
After the 2019 elections, the EU Parliament rejected a total of three candidates, who were replaced by others. However, Dan Jørgensen may have an advantage in the hearings because he himself has previously been a member of the EU Parliament. This means that he has both shown commitment to the parliament and has an understanding of the political groups that must approve him.
It is expected that the new EU Commission can take office after the hearings either on 1 November or 1 December.
40 pct. women
11 out of the 27 candidates for Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's second EU Commission are women. This corresponds to around 40 percent, the Commission President herself said at a presentation on Tuesday.
As expected, von der Leyen will not achieve gender balance in her second EU Commission. On the other hand, four out of the six so-called executive vice presidents will be women, says von der Leyen.
- When we started the process, the EU countries had nominated so few women that the EU Commission would consist of 22 percent women and 78 percent men. That was completely unacceptable, so I worked with the EU countries to get more female candidates. We managed to reach 40 percent. But there is still a lot to do, says von der Leyen.
The candidates must go through hearings in the EU Parliament before they are approved. Parliament has the ability to block commissioners.
It is expected that the new EU Commission will be able to take office after the hearings either on November 1 or December 1.
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