German MEP Peter Liese told Euronews he believes the 26 commissioner nominees will not enjoy a walkover when they are grilled by MEPs during their hearings, especially Hungary's and Malta's picks.
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Will the European Parliament approve the list of Commission nominees that von der Leyen will present next week?
According to veteran German MEP Peter Liese (CDU/EPP), some nominees will struggle to secure their spot, with the Maltese and Hungarian choices most imperilled.
Euronews has seen a list of 25 commissioners-designate doing the rounds of Ursula von der Leyen's own European People's Party, which earmarks their potential portfolios. It may not reflect what the Commission President finally decides on 11 September, but Radio Schuman can give you a peek at the latest on which names will slot into the portfolios.
We also take a quick look at the newly elected prime minister in France: Michel Barnier is very well known in EU Brussels circles, as two-time European Commissioner and chief negotiator of the Brexit deal. Will he be able to keep all political sides of France's divided National Assembly together however?
On a lighter note, did you know that you can now buy spaghetti carbonara in a tin in the UK? As you can imagine, that doesn't set Italian taste buds tingling...
Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Maïa de la Baume, with journalist and production assistant Eleonora Vasques, audio editing by Zacharia Vigneron and music by Alexandre Jas.