Belgium appoints FM Hadja Lahbib as EU commissioner – POLITICO

The pick came after pressure mounted on the negotiating parties, with Belgium being the very last EU country without an appointed Commissioner. The move deals a huge blow to Reynders, after he repeatedly signaled he was ready to run for a second term as Commissioner. In June, Reynders himself lost the race for a different international top job: secretary-general of the Council of Europe. 

The choice for Lahbib was sensitive both within MR and the new coalition, as Belgian politicians and diplomats see her as having failed in the foreign minister role. Whether or not it was a good idea to nominate her was one of the reasons of the delay, four Belgian officials said.

During Belgium’s EU Presidency, Lahbib called on the bloc to take a stronger stance on Hungary: In an interview with POLITICO, she urged EU governments to consider moving ahead with the procedure to deprive Hungary — which takes over the presidency next month — of voting rights. Lahbib’s interests touch upon the neighborhood and migration issues. 

European Council President Charles Michel was one of the people pushing for Lahbib internally, the officials said, because he is rumored to step in as the Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister.

The former TV-anchor-turned politician Lahbib was catapulted by her party leader into the role of foreign minister in July 2022 when the holder of the job, Sophie Wilmès, stepped down for personal reasons.

The outgoing Belgian government will still need to formally sign off on her nomination.