The EU`s incoming chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker appeared on track Tuesday to win formal approval for his new team that will have to tackle Europe`s economic and foreign policy challenges.
European parliament committees approved Juncker`s last two choices for the European Commission, the 28-member team that will lead the EU for the next five years, parliamentary sources said.
Following interviews on Monday, the committees gave the thumbs-up to Violeta Bulc -- a controversial Slovenian candidate who was named at short notice after parliament rejected her predecessor -- and Slovakia`s Maros Sefcovic who was appointed to a new role in the ensuing reshuffle.
Parliament is due to vote in Strasbourg on Wednesday on Juncker`s new European Commission in its entirety. If it passes, Juncker`s team can start its mandate as planned on November 1.
The spectre of a delay had been raised after a parliamentary committee rejected Slovenia`s former prime minister Alenka Bratusek.
It prompted Juncker into carrying out a reshuffle when he proposed Bulc, a little known Slovenian deputy premier and telecoms entrepreneur, for the post of transport commissioner.
Juncker then moved Sefcovic from the transport role to become vice president for energy union, the high-profile role originally earmarked for Bratusek.
Juncker`s team is due to replace that of Jose Manuel Barroso, who is the outgoing president of the European Commission, which heads a bloc of 28 nations and 500 million people.
The new team will take over as the European economy is on the verge of stalling completely, there is a risk of spillover from turmoil in the Middle East while the fallout from the Ukraine crisis continues to poison relations with Russia.
