In the great Cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Cameron has nominated Lord Hill as the British candidate for the next European Commission, as announced by the British Embassy in Lisbon.
Lord Hill, 54, had been the Leader of the House of Lords and a member of the Cabinet since January 2013 as well as having worked for John Major in the ‘90s, including political secretary during the Maastricht Treaty negotiations.
“The Prime Minister has chosen Lord Hill because he combines substantial experience of working at the heart of government over many years with private sector experience, having founded his own company in 1998”, the Embassy reported.
“Mr Cameron called the Commission President elect, Jean-Claude Juncker, yesterday to nominate Lord Hill. Mr Juncker welcomed the extensive political experience that Lord Hill would bring to any role”, it wrote.
Mr Juncker makes the final decision on who gets which Commissioner portfolios, including the key economic ones, from a selection of candidates from different countries. He is expected to decide on his top team in the next few weeks.
Lord Hill will succeed Lady Ashton, Gordon Brown’s nomination in 2009 who subsequently became the EU high commissioner for foreign affairs.
The post is an important one as Britain’s man in the European Commission where he will have to make the UK’s case in Brussels during his five-year term ending 2019.
