Belgium will nominate its federal minister for foreign affairs and trade, Hadja Lahbib, to serve in the next European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen.

The announcement was confirmed by Georges-Louis Bouchez, president of the centrist Reformist Movement (MR), on social media platform X.

The news comes as Romania switched its candidate to be current MEP and former minister for European funds Roxana Mînzatu, as von der Leyen seeks to ensure greater gender balance among her top officials.

The nominations mean women would represent 9 out of the 27 most senior officials in the Brussels EU executive, excluding Bulgaria, which has proposed both male and female candidates for von der Leyen to pick from. 

Lahbib, who took over as foreign affairs minister in 2022, succeeding Sophie Wilmès in Prime Minister Alexander De Croo’s government, played a significant role during Belgium’s EU presidency, which concluded in June.

Prior to her political career, Lahbib spent over two decades as a news anchor for the Belgian French-speaking channel RTBF, where she was also a special correspondent in Afghanistan and the Middle East.

Belgium was the last EU country to submit its candidate for the European Commission, missing the 30 August deadline set by von der Leyen.

“The deadline indicated by the president was not, of course, a legal one and there’s no legal obligation to comply with it,” said Commission spokesperson Arianna Podesta on Monday.

The nomination of the next EU Commissioner was part of broader negotiations to form a likely coalition of five parties in Belgium’s government following elections held in June.

Lahbib emerged as the chosen candidate amid speculation about other contenders, including Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke and the incumbent Commissioner Didier Reynders.

According to Belgian daily Le Soir, Reynders expressed his “deep disappointment” with the MR’s decision.

With Belgium’s submission, all EU member states have now presented their nominees for the next European Commission.

However, the situation remains fluid, as there are rumours that von der Leyen has requested further countries to reconsider their nominations in pursuit of a gender-balanced Commission. 

Mînzatu, formerly chair of the Romanian National Public Procurement Agency and a staffer at the Braşov Chamber of Commerce, held an hour-long meeting with von der Leyen on Sunday, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said today.

She has now replaced left-wing MEP Victor Negrescu as Bucharest’s candidate. 

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“The president has been very clear about her ambition for a gender-balanced college,” a Commission spokesperson said of von der Leyen’s goals.