The European Council has today (Monday, October 9) appointed Wopke Hoekstra from the Netherlands as a new European Commissioner, by common accord with the president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
The appointment follows the resignation of Frans Timmermans as executive vice-president of the commission and is for the remainder of the term of office of the commission, which runs until October 31, 2024.
Timmermans, who had responsibility for the European Green Deal, officially resigned in order to run in a general election in his native Netherlands.
Hoekstra has now been assigned the portfolio of Climate Action by president von der Leyen.
In accordance with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, a vacancy caused by the resignation of a member of the commission is filled for the remainder of his or her term by a new member of the same nationality.
The new member is appointed by the council, by common accord with the president of the Commission, after consulting the European Parliament.
New European Commissioner
Hoekstra has served in the Dutch parliament since 2011. Since 2017, he has served in the Dutch cabinet, initially as minister for finance and latterly as minister for foreign affairs.
He is 47 years old, and his educational and career background is in law.
Upon confirmation of his appointment, Hoekstra took to social media to state the following: “[Honoured] by the support of @Europarl_EN and excited to start work as EU Commissioner for #ClimateAction.
“We have a lot of work ahead on the #EUGreenDeal, maintaining ambition in Europe and globally.
“My first task: Work with EU and international partners for a successful #COP28,” he added.
Ursula von der Leyen had previously said: “Mr. Hoekstra stressed during the interview his commitment to continuing an ambitious climate policy and to maintaining a social balance in all necessary joint efforts on the road to climate neutrality.”