LawGov.net
The new Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen will find it hard enough to preserve the fragile consensus on farming reforms, which he is supposed to pour into a 100-day “vision” that would seek to placate angry farmers by easing environmental burdens and boosting their incomes.
The future commissioners have spent weeks anticipating these rules as they plan their five-year terms in Brussels, which will begin pending approval by the European Parliament after grueling hearings set for November.
His report to EU bosses in Brussels had been expected this month but it is now all-but certain to be pushed back to September, whileUrsula von der Leyen is working full-time to secure the support she needs from MEPs to win a second term as European Commission President.
During his eight years as prime minister, the socialist politician deftly sidestepped confrontations with Portugal’s charismatic president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a constitutional law expert and former television commentator with a talent for making controversial statements.