Swedish conservative Jessika Roswall has been approved as the next environment commissioner for the EU after facing scrutiny from European Parliament committees. Despite some concerns about her performance during the public hearing, she ultimately received enough support from political groups to move forward in the process. The final decision came after closed-door discussions among coordinators for the political groups, leading to her approval by a majority vote.
Roswall’s appointment faced opposition from only a few political groups, including the far-right Patriots for Europe and Europe of Sovereign Nations, as well as the Left group. However, she expressed gratitude for the broad support she received from the European Parliament’s environment committee. Green groups in Brussels reacted positively to her promises to uphold existing environmental legislation and commitments to initiatives like the European Green Deal. However, there were concerns raised about her focus on scaling up a European market for secondary raw materials without compromising quality or toxic-free standards.
Despite some doubts raised during the hearing, Roswall has emphasized her commitment to implementing and enforcing existing environmental legislation, such as the Water Framework Directive, Nature Directives, and the Nature Restoration Law. Campaign groups like Zero Waste Europe have expressed concerns about the circular economy aspects of her portfolio, particularly around the need to regulate materials use to cut waste at the source. The European Environmental Bureau’s head of water and biodiversity policy welcomed her pledges, including the Soil Monitoring Law and Water Resilience Strategy, while cautioning against any weakening of environmental protections in the process of simplifying EU legislation.
The approval process for Roswall and other commissioner candidates is ongoing, with political group leaders expected to endorse successful candidates on 21 November. However, Hungarian Olivér Várhelyi was asked to provide additional written answers following concerns raised during his hearing. The new Commission as a whole will need to be approved by a full plenary vote of MEPs at the end of the month to take office in December. Despite some delays and potential rejections, the process is moving forward, with Roswall’s approval as environment commissioner marking a significant step in the formation of the new Commission.
