New EU chief diplomat backs Ukraine as bloc's top team faces grilling

The European Union's designated foreign policy chief said Tuesday that the bloc must back Ukraine "for as long as it takes", as she and other EU heavyweights faced scrutiny by parliament.

Kallas is among six vice presidents tapped to lead EU chief Ursula von der Leyen's new European Commission, who need to win parliamentary approval before starting in their post next month.

An outspoken Ukraine supporter and hawkish critic of Russia, the former Estonian prime minister was first up along with Italy's Raffaele Fitto -- of Giorgia Meloni's hard-right Brothers of Italy party.

"The situation on the battlefield is difficult. And that's why we must keep working every day," Kallas told EU lawmakers.

"Today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes and with as much military, financial and humanitarian help as needed."

France's ex-foreign minister Stephane Sejourne, 39, tipped to take charge of the 27-nation bloc's industrial strategy, and Spain's Teresa Ribera, the incoming EU competition chief, are among the other members of the new top team to be grilled by lawmakers on Tuesday.

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Entrusted with leading the EU as it seeks to navigate the war in Ukraine, Donald Trump's return to the White House and the bloc's declining competitiveness vis-a-vis the United States and China, they will have to prove their worth.

Kallas's approval is in little doubt since she was tapped for the role directly by EU leaders.

But that is not true for all and the hearings are expected to lay bare political dividing lines within the bloc.

Lawmakers on the centre and left are unhappy that Fitto, despite his hard-right affiliation, was handed a powerful vice presidency with the cohesion and reforms brief.

They see the move, which von der Leyen has said reflected Rome's importance within the bloc, as a betrayal of a deal that got her re-elected in July.

'Open and uncertain'

Meloni's European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), which espouses a brand of politics disliked by progressive EU parliamentarians, did not support the German politician's bid for a second term.

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Opponents argue it should thus be excluded from the inner sanctum of the new leadership.

"I want to be clear, I am not here to represent a political party. I am not here to represent a member state. I am here today to affirm my commitment to Europe," Fitto said in his opening statement, calling for dialogue and cooperation.

Some members of the Socialists and Democrats -- the second-largest group in parliament -- have threatened to vote against confirming the entire college of commissioners on November 27 if the 55-year-old is not stripped of the vice presidency.

The ECR tried to mend bridges by pulling its punches as the first 20 commissioners were grilled last week, voting in favour of most of them.

But "the final outcome remains open and uncertain", said Sandro Gozi of the centrist Renew group.

Ribera, who along with Finland's Henna Virkkunen will be the last to undergo the three-hour questioning, might also be in for a rough hearing if lawmakers have already taken their gloves off.

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Spain's socialist ecological transition minister was given what is arguably the commission's most influential role, as competition chief with responsibility over a vast environmental portfolio.

A close ally of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the 55-year-old Ribera is likely to have to address her anti-nuclear views and reassure sceptical right-wingers of her commitment to pair climate goals with growth.

She may also be questioned about her government's response to the devastating floods that have hit the Valencia region.

The commission is one of the world's most formidable regulators, enforcing European law on key issues such as trade, competition and technology. Each EU state has nominated one member to serve on the body.

Vice presidents have specific purviews but are also tasked with coordinating the work of other commissioners on related matters.

Von der Leyen, who counts as Germany's representative, allocated portfolios based on personal experience as well as political and national clout.

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The hearings offer the European Parliament a rare chance to flex its muscles against the bloc's powerful executive -- and at least one candidate has been canned during the five-yearly exercise since 2004.

Yet all but one of the 20 questioned so far this year have been given the green light.

The outlier is Hungary's Oliver Varhelyi, an ally of nationalist leader and Brussels rebel Viktor Orban, whose fate is still in the balance, a decision having been postponed to Wednesday.

The team is to start a five-year term in early December.

Source: AFP