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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Sept. 17 the composition of the EU’s executive arm as the bloc seeks to better respond to Russia’s war in Ukraine and other global challenges.
Von der Leyen, winning her second five-year term in the June elections, has proven to be a vocal supporter of Ukraine during the full-scale war, which is reflected in her picks for key Brussels jobs.
For the first time in history, the European Commission will include the position of defense commissioner. Former Lithuanian Prime Minister and Member of the European Parliament Andrius Kubilius will take up the new post overseeing the EU’s defense policy.
Von der Leyen said the commissioner will “work on developing the European defense union and boosting our investment in industrial capacity.” Russia’s war in Ukraine revealed serious deficiencies in the European defense industry as EU countries struggled to provide Kyiv with sufficient arms and munitions.
Kubilius, who headed Lithuania’s government between 1999-2000 and then again between 2008-2012, has been an outspoken supporter of Kyiv’s struggle against Moscow.
Speaking to the European Parliament on Sept. 17, Kubilius said that the EU needs “to radically ramp up production of our military industry and to integrate Ukraine’s military industry with the European one.”
“And we need to remove any red lines in the defense of Ukraine,” he added.
One of the most senior positions in the commission, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, was given to former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
The Estonian politician is replacing Josep Borrell, who headed the EU’s diplomacy since 2019.
Kallas’s appointment was long expected after she stepped down from the Estonian government in July. Leading the Baltic country at the Russian border from 2021 until 2024, Kallas advocated for more decisive measures by the West to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s aggression.
Under her leadership, Estonia has been among the leaders in the Ukraine aid in terms of GDP per capita. Kallas also argued for Ukraine’s membership in NATO and supported Paris’s proposal of deploying Western military trainers in Ukrainian territory.
Another appointment that will be crucial for Ukraine is Slovenia’s Marta Kos, who was nominated to replace Hungarian Oliver Varhelyi as the enlargement commissioner.
Kos will be responsible for the EU’s Eastern neighborhood policy and “will work on supporting Ukraine – and continuing the work on reconstruction, and support candidate countries to prepare them for accession,” von der Leyen said.
Kos, whose final appointment is still awaiting a decision by the national parliament, previously served as ambassador to Switzerland and Germany.
Experts told the Kyiv Independent in June that a potential replacement of the Hungarian commissioner, whose homeland has repeatedly obstructed Kyiv’s membership efforts, could signal a more positive outlook for Ukraine’s accession.
Ukraine was granted membership candidate status in 2022 and began accession talks with Brussels in June this year.
Varhelyi remains in the EU’s executive as the health and animal welfare commissioner.
Two of the commission’s new executive vice presidents are Spain’s Teresa Ribera Rodriguez, who is in charge of climate and competition policy, and Finland’s Henna Virkkunen, who is overseeing tech sovereignty and security, underscoring the European Commission’s focus on climate and innovation.
Other new appointments include ex-French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne leading the bloc’s industrial strategy, Latvia’s Valdis Dombrovskis overseeing economy and productivity matters, Poland’s Piotr Serafin in charge of budgetary issues, and Slovak diplomat Maros Sefcovic overseeing trade policy, among others.
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