European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is expected to be officially re-elected at the EU summit taking place on June 27th-28th in Brussels. Photograph: Olivier Hoslet
At an informal meeting of leaders last week, von der Leyen was proposed for a further five years in the powerful role she holds as head of the commission. This is part of an agreement that would see Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas become the EU’s next foreign affairs chief and former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa take over as European Council president.
Ireland is unlikely to be let near a portfolio that focuses on taxation or tech regulation, given the country is an outlier on corporate tax and has a heavy concentration of tech giants in Dublin. Mairead McGuinness, the outgoing Irish commissioner, had the financial services job. That would be a fit, but there is a reluctance to let a country keep the same portfolio for consecutive terms.