| Another day, another hearing. Yesterday, Andrius Kubilius, the Lithuanian commissioner-designate for defence and space, refrained from committing himself to specific, concrete goals, although he urged to boost defence spending, not over Trump, but the real threat that poses Vladimir Putin. Czech Commissioner-designate for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela denounced on his part Chinese and Russian “neocolonialism” during his hearing, which he passed, unlike his Hungarian counterpart for health, Olivér Várhelyi, who will face a second hearing. Portugual's Maria Luís Albuquerque sealed the European Commission's top financial services job after facing harsh scrutiny from MEPs over her recent work for private investment firms.
Meanwhile, Crisis Management Commissioner Belgium’s Hadja Lahbib faced tough questions about her Crimea tripand visa scandal but was approved.
Her fate was somehow politically intertwined with Swedish would-be environment commissioner Jessika Roswall, whose hearing went sour on Tuesday (7 November) but still managed to pass yesterday. On the audition schedule today, Poland’s Piotr Serafin, commissioner candidate on budget, anti-fraud, and public administration, faces the delicate balancing act of defending reform proposals for the EU budget while reassuring current beneficiaries. Dutchman Wopke Hoekstra (Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth), Slovenia’s Marta Kos (Enlargement), and Latvia’s Valdis Dombrovskis (Economy and Productivity; Implementation and Simplification) are also facing their own hearings today. | 