The Council appoints the 27 commissioners-designate in agreement with the elected Commission President.
Each commissioner, one from each EU country, is assigned responsibility for a specific policy area by the Commission President.
The Commission as a whole is subject to the European Parliament's approval.
Each candidate is assessed by the EP committees that deal with his/her portfolio.
Written procedure: the commissioner-designate has to provide written replies to five questions from MEPs.
The commissioner-designate is invited to a three-hour hearing, streamed live online, in front of the EP committees responsible for the portfolio he or she has been assigned. The candidate makes an opening speech of maximum 15 minutes and should then answer questions.
Evaluation meeting. The responsible committee has to finalise its evaluation within 24 hours following the hearing. It can ask for further information in writing.
A separate evaluation report on each commissioner-designate is sent to the Conference of Committee Chairs and to the Conference of Presidents of the EP, which will draw up a draft resolution to be voted on in plenary.
The Commission President takes the results of the hearings, as well as consultations with parliament's political groups, into account. He or she then presents his or her team and political priorities during a plenary session of the European Parliament. After a debate, MEPs will decide, by a majority of votes cast, whether to support the new College of Commissioners for a mandate of five years.
The European Commission is able to commence its five-year term after having been approved by the Parliament and appointed by the Council.
