It's a ritual that happens every five years, and also a test for two of the EU’s key institutions. Once all the European Commission's new members have been designated, they go through confirmation hearings before the European Parliament. The parliament gets to flex its muscles vis-à-vis the EU executive and probe beyond the niceties of designates saying the right things about their commitment to European values. Getting through these grillings is not a foregone conclusion: last time, in 2019, three commissioner-designates were rejected. We ask our apnel of MEPs what they look for in a hearing, and if they see any of the current candidates as being particularly problematic.
