Updated 1.10pm

Malta’s nominee for the EU Commission Glenn Micallef has been assigned the role of Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport portfolio by Ursula von der Leyen.

Von der Leyen revealed the portfolio at a press conference on Tuesday morning during which she presented her Commission line-up. Her proposed team must be approved by MEPs before they assume their roles. 

Micallef – who at 35 is the youngest of the 27-person proposed college – will be responsible for finding ways of involving young people in EU policymaking.

Von der Leyen had announced her intention to appoint a commissioner focused on intergenerational fairness in a speech to the European Parliament earlier this year, saying "we must also ensure that decisions taken today do not harm to future generations and that there is increased solidarity and engagement between people of different ages." 

Micallef said it was a "true privilege" to be assigned the portfolio, which he described as one that was "close to EU citizens' daily lives and experiences." 

  

The Maltese government congratulated Micallef for what it said was a portfolio focused on "important topics that our country has always emphasised at a national and EU level".

Prime Minister Robert Abela was quick to congratulate Micallef on the appointment.  

"The EU has a meaningful impact on people, particularly in youth, culture and  sport," Abela wrote on X, describing it as "a proud moment for Malta as our nominee takes on a key role in shaping the future of Europe." 

Culture Minister Owen Bonnici was also pleased, saying he looked forward to working with Micallef.

Micallef's portfolio is one of the commission's more minor roles, and that was reflected in the relatively few words von der Leyen dedicated to it in her press conference. 

“Intergenerational fairness is a cross-cutting topic. It affects all of us – and especially young people. It is about the right balance in a society. And I have entrusted Glenn to watch over it,” she told reporters.

But despite its limitations, the portfolio comes with a hefty budget that totals more than €13 billion when funds for the EU's youth and sports programme Erasmus+, NGO funding platform European Solidarity Corps and cultural funding stream Creative Europe are combined.

The portfolio assigned to Malta's outgoing commissioner, Helena Dalli, was relegated: there will be no Equality commissioner in von der Leyen's second commission, with that responsibility put under the oversight of Belgium nominee Hadja Lahbib.  

Writing on social media, former MEP Cyrus Engerer said that was a "regression". 

Weeks of pressure

Micallef's portfolio was widely anticipated and puts to bed weeks of backroom negotiations concerning his nomination.

Von der Leyen’s team had pressured various governments, including Malta’s, to switch out male nominees with female ones to ensure a more gender-balanced commission.

Malta resisted that pressure and stuck by Micallef, who was nominated after Malta’s original pick, former minister Chris Fearne, withdrew after he faced criminal charges.

Micallef, an EU policy expert, previously served as chief of staff to Prime Minister Robert Abela. 

PN: Abela used nomination for internal reasons

Von der Leyen brushed aside the suggestion that she had applied “unjustified pressure” on member states to change their nominees.

She also pushed back at criticism coming from countries assigned weaker portfolios. "At least 20 member states" had asked for their nominee to be assigned a strong economic portfolio, she said, adding that was an "impossible" request to satisfy. 

The Nationalist Party said it wished Micallef well but expressed concern that Abela had used the nomination to manage internal, domestic pressures rather than maximise Malta's odds of being assigned a powerful portfolio.

"Robert Abela placed himself in a weak position and could not negotiate for the Commissioner to be given more responsibilities than those assigned," the PN said in a statement. "This is not how a Prime Minister should behave."

Micallef's nomination had prompted murmurs of discontent within Abela's cabinet, with many questioning his lack of political experience.

PN MEP Peter Agius congratulated Micallef but warned Malta's nominee would "face an uphill battle" in his European Parliament grilling.

In a statement congratulating Micallef, the Labour Party said the PN's criticism was "an insult to youth by a sensationalist and petty Opposition." 

College made up of 40% women 

Von der Leyen’s proposed college of commissioners is now composed of 40% women, up from the 22% ratio in the original list of names submitted by member states, she noted. 

Micallef and other proposed commissioners will now face a grilling by MEPs, who will then vote on the college as a whole. If the vote is favourable, the college of commissioners will proceed to assume office.

Four of the six executive vice presidents will be women, with von der Leyen also noting that three of the six top commissioners come from member states that joined the EU after the end of the Cold War.

France’s nominee Stéphane Séjourné, unveiled on Monday, will serve as vice-president for industry, SMEs and the single market. He will be tasked with steering policy on Europe's urgent need to overhaul its industry to be more competitive, a key priority for the coming years, von der Leyen told reporters.  

Italy’s nominee Raffaele Fitto, who forms part of Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, will serve as vice-president for cohesion and reforms.

The new role of Commissioner for the Mediterranean – a post that Malta aspired to – was assigned to Croatia’s nominee Dubravka Šuica.

Cyprus' nominee was assigned the Fisheries and Oceans portfolio, while Luxembourg's Christophe Hansen will serve as Commissioner for Agriculture and Food. 

Lithuania's Andrius Kubilius, a former prime minister, was tapped for a new defence commissioner role in the European Commission, billed as central to the EU's ambitions to rearm faced with the threat from Russia.

Dutch nominee Wopke Hoekstra will serve as commissioner for climate.

Slovakia’s Maroš Šefčovič, who returns to the commission for a second term, will be in charge of trade and economic security, reporting directly to Von der Leyen.

Arguably the biggest loser is Hungary's Olivér Várhelyi, a returning commissioner who was assigned responsibility for Health and Animal Welfare - a job Politico described as one "nobody wants". 

Full list of commissioners and their portfolios

Ursula von der Leyen (Germany): European Commission President

Vice-presidents:

Teresa Ribera (Spain): Executive Vice-President for the Clean, Just and Competitive Transition

Henna Virkkunen (Finland): Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy

Stéphane Séjourné (France): Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy

Roxana Mînzatu (Romania): Executive Vice-President for People, Skills and Preparedness

Raffaele Fitto (Italy): Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms

Kaja Kallas (Estonia): High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy

Commissioners:

Magnus Brunner (Austria): Internal Affairs and Migration

Hadja Lahbib (Belgium): Preparedness, Crisis Management, Equality

Ekaterina Zaharieva (Bulgaria): Startups, Research and Innovation

Dubravka Šuica (Croatia): Mediterranean

Glenn Micallef (Malta): Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport

Wopke Hoekstra (Netherlands): Climate, Net-Zero and Clean Growth

Costas Kadis (Cyprus): Fisheries and Oceans

Jozef Síkela (Czech Republic): International Partnerships

Dan Jørgensen (Denmark): Energy and Housing

Apostolos Tzitzikostas (Greece): Sustainable Transport and Tourism

Maroš Šefčovič (Slovakia): Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency

Olivér Várhelyi (Hungary): Health and Animal Welfare

Michael McGrath (Ireland): Democracy, Justice and Rule of Law

Valdis Dombrovskis (Latvia): Economy and Productivity, Implementation and Simplification

Andrius Kubilius (Lithuania): Defence and Space

Christophe Hansen (Luxembourg): Agriculture and Food

Piotr Serafin (Poland): Budget, Anti-fraud, Public Administrations

Maria Luís Albuquerque (Portugal): Financial Services

Jessika Roswall (Sweden): Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy

Marta Kos* (Slovenia): Enlargement

Slovenia's nominee Marta Kos is still subject to negotiations, von der Leyen said.