Mr Hoekstra, Commissioner-designate for Climate Action, will be questioned by the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety to assess his skills, experience and suitability to become Commissioner, replacing Frans Timmermans, who resigned on 22 August, following his decision to run as a candidate in the forthcoming general election campaign in the Netherlands.
The committees on Industry, Research and Energy, on Foreign Affairs and on Development will participate in his hearing.
The hearing will take place from 18.30 to 21.30 in the European Parliament in Strasbourg in meeting room WEISS 1.4.
You can watch the hearing live on Parliament’s webstreaming and on EbS+.
A press point by the committee chair Mr. Pascal Canfin (Renew, FR) is scheduled to take place after the hearing, next to the meeting room (tbc).
For further general information on the hearing and official documents, please see here.
Written questions and answers
Mr Hoekstra’s answers to the written questions from the relevant committees will be available here.
Structure of the hearing
The hearing will last three hours. The candidate will make a 15-minute introductory statement, which will be followed by questions from MEPs. There will be 25 questions altogether: one minute per question, followed by a one-minute answer from the candidate and a possible follow-up question from the MEP. Before the hearing ends, the candidate will be able to give a five-minute statement.
Evaluation
The hearing will immediately be followed by an in-camera meeting, in which the chairs and group representatives (coordinators) will evaluate Mr Hoekstra’s suitability for the post.
The Conference of Committee Chairs will then assess the outcome of the hearing and forward its conclusions to the Conference of Presidents. On 4 October, the latter will conduct the final evaluation and decide whether to close the hearing process and hold a vote during the October plenary session on 5 October.
Audiovisual services and webstreaming
The hearing is public and can be followed live. You can watch it on Parliament’s webstreaming and on EbS+.
Parliament’s Multimedia Centre will provide HD quality videos, high-resolution photos and audio material (grouped by hearing in “media packages”). Find the package for Mr Hoekstra here.
HD quality videos can be downloaded within 30 minutes of the start of the hearing (live replays) and a selection of high-quality photos will be available for download.
Accreditation and access
No special accreditation is necessary. Journalists holding an inter-institutional pass or annual pass delivered by the Parliament can enter Parliament’s premises as they always do. Seats for journalists will be reserved in the last row of meeting room WEISS 1.4, available on a “first come, first served” basis.
Those who do not have a pass need to request short-term accreditation through Parliament’s registration website.