Analysis by Nikolett Garai, Attila Kovács, Tamás Levente Molnár, Benedek Pál and Barnabás Szabó
The new European Commission is taking office in politically challenging times. Ursula von der Leyen was elected by the European Parliament as the new President of the Commission with a narrow majority, therefore she has sought to involve the three largest political groups (EPP, S&D, RE) equally in the Commission’s top positions. The new Commission, which, unlike von der Leyen, was elected by a large majority, is structured in a way that the Commissioners rely on each other heavily and are thus forced to make constant compromises.
The new President has set ambitious goals, and the expectations of the Commission are accordingly high. Compared to the Jean-Claude Juncker Commission, von der Leyen wants to put more emphasis on environmental and digital policies and plans to lead a “geopolitical” Commission instead of the former “political” one. The success of the new President’s efforts will depend on, inter alia, her ability to lower the level of tension among the Member States and resolve mutual blockages between the EU institutions.