EU lawmakers grill candidates who will drive policy for the next 5 years

Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — Nominees for some of the European Union’s top jobs are facing parliamentary hearings. EU lawmakers are starting to vet would-be commissioners to oversee Europe-wide policies ranging from agriculture to trade for the next five years. Four of the 26 new members of the European Commission will each undergo a three-hour grilling by senior lawmakers most closely linked to their policy files. The commission is the only EU body with the power to draft laws. Malta’s Glenn Micallef, the would-be commissioner for youth, culture and sport, was among the first questioned, along with Slovakia’s Maroš Šefčovič, who has served as a commissioner in various capacities since 2009.