COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Denmark on Wednesday nominated Dan Jorgensen, a centre-left minister for development cooperation and global climate policy, for a post on the new European Commission following EU parliamentary elections earlier this year.
Denmark has so far been represented on the EU’s executive body by outgoing Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, known for a crackdown and hefty fines meted out to Big Tech for anti-competitive practices.
Jorgensen now faces a vetting process and approval by the European Parliament before he can become a commissioner. It is not known which post he would be assigned to.
“I have been in very close dialog with Ursula von der Leyen about what responsibility Denmark should take on in the upcoming commission … I expect Denmark to get a central portfolio,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told a press conference.
Jorgensen currently serves in Social Democrat Frederiksen’s government.
A former member of the European Parliament he has previously also held the position of Danish energy and climate minister, participating in global climate talks.
German conservative Ursula von der Leyen was reelected in July for a second five-year term as president of the European Commission and is now tasked with setting her new team which will consist of a commissioner from each of the 27 EU countries.
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Terje Solsvik)
Comments