Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra Nominated for European Commissioner as Frans Timmermans Resigns

“After consultations within the government and with the President of the European Commission, I have decided to present Wopke Hoekstra as a candidate for the European Commission,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in a statement.

Wopke Hoekstra has headed the Foreign Office since 2022. Before that, he served as Finance Minister between 2017 and 2022. He was then in charge of discussions on the EU’s financial recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic . He became known in Brussels as one of the most virulent opponents of sharing the tax burden. With the so-called “frugal” countries, he opposed the issuance of collective debt in the form of “corona bonds”.

But before joining the Commission, he will have to pass a hearing before the European Parliament.

Frans Timmermans, head of EU climate policy, formally resigned from the Commission earlier this week. The institution announced that Maroš Šefčovič, in charge of relations with the United Kingdom and the establishment of a common gas purchasing platform, would take over Frans Timmermans’ previous responsibilities as vice-president of the European Commission for the Green Deal. But the climate portfolio remains to be filled.

Wopke Hoekstra comes from the ranks of the right and belongs to the European People’s Party (EPP). He has recently been criticized for his attempts to limit the Union’s climate ambition.

In response to the nomination, the Social Democrats (S&D) Group in the European Parliament on Friday confirmed its claim to retain the climate portfolio, describing Wopke Hoekstra as a “controversial” candidate.

“In the context of recent cynical and populist maneuvers by the conservative EPP to water down the Green Deal and derail key legislative files such as the Nature Restoration Act, it is crucial for our group that the climate portfolio remains in the hands of the family of socialists and democrats”, underlines the formation in a press release.

“Wopke Hoekstra made himself known to the general European public through controversial statements during the Covid-19 crisis”, add the Social Democrats. “To gain the support of our group, any commissioner-designate must prove beyond a shadow of a doubt their commitment to European values, such as solidarity as a cornerstone of our union.”

Wopke Hoekstra’s hearing before the European Parliament should take place in early autumn.