Economic portfolios are key in talks to chose new EU commissioners

Ursula von der Leyen is facing challenging negotiations to create her new College of Commissioners with economic portfolios among the most coveted by European Union member states.

Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, Czechia and Romania have all indicated they hope to claim one such portfolio, with the one including the budget highly sought after.

"We have the Multiannual Financial Framework to be negotiated in the next term. This will be a very difficult and very heavy dossier, but it will also be something which will be very determining the priorities of the years to come," Janis Emmanouilidis, a senior policy analyst at the European Policy Center (EPC), told Euronews.

France is also in contention for a strong portfolio as it has nominated Thierry Breton, now Commissioner for the Internal Market, to stay in Brussels for a second term.

“There is always a great interest in Competition and Trade, areas where the EU has a lot of competence," Sophia Russack, a researcher at the Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS), told Euronews.

“The same applies to those that have a particularly high impact on the budget, for example the cohesion and agriculture funds which together represent around a third of the entire EU budget,” she added.

In these power plays, Ursula von der Leyen can also use defence, a new portfolio dedicated to the military industry, seen as very relevant due to the war in Ukraine.

The Mediterranean - linked to migration management - and housing will also have dedicated commissioners for the first time.

To complete the "puzzle" and designate executive vice-presidents, the centre-right Commission chief will also have to take into account which political parties backed her reappointment in the European Parliament in