On 17 September 2024, the President of the European Commission – Ursula von der Leyen – announced her much anticipated distribution of the 26 top roles in the upcoming European Commission, including 6 Vice-President positions, while striving for a gender balanced approach. 

Accordingly, the currently joint portfolio of Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth – largely praised in 2019 when awarded to her predecessor, Mariya Gabriel, as a necessary step in the direction of enhancing synergies between higher education, research and innovation – will be split across three different Commissioners in the next college. The move already generated a wave of concerned reactions from representative organisations in the field, who fear this will lead to further siloing of the different areas, rather than to a more consolidated and enhanced approach. 

Roxana Mînzatu (Romania) was designated as Vice-President for People, Skills and Preparedness, being responsible also for the portfolia of skills and education, quality jobs and social rights, although the latter three areas do not appear in the official title of the position. In the area of higher education, based on the mission letter from President von der Leyen, Ms Mînzatu’s duties will include working on the European Education Area to support a common approach to skills; the European Degree as a flagship for learning mobility and support for European Universities Alliances; attracting skilled workers from outside the EU; and developing a new STEM Education Strategic Plan.  

As one of six Vice-Presidents, and with an enhanced portfolio, she will oversee the work of several other Commissioners, namely: the Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica (Croatia), the Commissioner for Crisis Management and Equality, Hadja Lahbib (Belgium), the Commissioner for Animal Health and Welfare, Oliver Varhelyi (Hungary), and the Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Culture, Youth, and Sport, Glenn Micallef (Malta), who receives part of the portfolio currently managed by Commissioner Ivanova. In addition, the Mediterranean, Crisis Management and Equality, and the Animal Health and Welfare portfolios will be co-managed with other two Vice-Presidents of the European Commission, namely Kaja Kallas and Teresa Ribera Rodriguez.  

The last part of Commissioner Ivanova’s current portfolio was assigned to Ekaterina Zaharieva, nominated as Commissioner for start-ups, research and innovation, being the third Bulgarian in a row to be responsible for the research portfolio at EU level. This is a particularly ambitious agenda, including delivering a European Research Area Act and a European Innovation Act. 

Especially the split between the higher education and research portfolio has been negatively received by the sector. Over the coming months, the 26 Commissioners-designate will be questioned via special hearings by Members of the European Parliament and its special committees, before the approval vote of the college of Commissioners as a whole.