VdL Pushes For 1 Nov Start For New Commission-Politico

Politico is reporting that according to an unnamed EU official, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is looking to pressure institutions to hold a speedy confirmation process for the new College of Commissioners that could see them begin work on 1 November.

• Politico: "Consensus has been building around holding the hearings of new commissioners between November 4 and 12, allowing the Commission to take office on December 1, [...] But on Friday, von der Leyen put pressure on the Parliament to revert to its earlier timetable and hold the hearings in the week of October 14."
• A number of outlets have reported on the delays to VdL's naming of her Commission due to political divisions in Slovenia, where the gov't is yet to name its nominee.
• MNI's Policy team adds to this with its 12 Sep article ('MNI: Fight Over Jobs Delays Naming Of EU Commissioners-Sources'). Here, MNI's EU sources claim that it is not just internal divisions in Slovenia holding up the process, but infighting within the Union's political groups over the distribution of senior portfolios that is acting as a drag on the naming of VdL's second Commission.
• Once the new Commission is named its nominees face grillings by MEPs from their portfolio's respective parliamentary committee. At the end of these hearings the European Parliament votes on the College of Commissioners as an entity, not individual nominees.
• As such, those nominees who do not impress their committee face being junked as candidates before the vote, potentially delaying the process further.