European Parliament Approves New EU Commission

A loose coalition was formed by the three main groups in Parliament (the conservative EPP, the social democrat S&D, and the liberal RE) to support the commission, and they were largely expected to vote yes. In her pre-vote speech, President von der Leyen warned about a difficult political situation, particularly regarding Russia's war in Ukraine. Ursula von der Leyen stated in her speech in Strasbourg, "Europeans must once again fight for freedom and independence." The European Parliament's approval of the commission means that the new EU Commission can make a swift start and begin its term from Sunday, December 1st. Above all, this will be felt in the transition of the foreign ministers, with Estonia’s former Prime Minister Kaja Kallas taking over from Spain's Josep Borrell. Among the prominent figures in the commission are French Stéphane Séjourné, responsible for welfare and industrial strategy, Finnish Henna Virkkunen, dealing with digital issues and security, and Spanish Teresa Ribera, tasked with overseeing a "clean and competitive transformation."