LONDON — Doctors will urge the U.K.’s data watchdog to investigate whether NHS England broke the law in training its generative artificial intelligence model Foresight on patient records. Doctors are drafting a formal complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office alleging that NHS England breached data protection rules by plugging general practitioner patient data solely intended for Covid-19 research into a more all-purpose AI model without consent, according to a person familiar with the situation, granted anonymity to speak candidly. NHS England confirmed in a statement to POLITICO on 30 May that it had paused Foresight’s ongoing data processing and launched an internal audit into the project after representatives from the British Medical Association (BMA) and Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) raised concerns. Touted as a “world-first pilot project” capable of helping early interventions by pinpointing high-risk patient groups, Foresight was trained on the de-identified data of 57 million people in England, including NHS England’s Data for Pandemic Planning and Research (GDPPR).  NHS England’s own guidelines state that applications for accessing GP data must undergo additional review by a Professional Advisory Group (PAG), which comprises members of the BMA, RCGP, and Caldicott Guardian Arjun Dhillon. The PAG approved the British Heart Foundation consortium’s use of GDPPR specifically for Covid-19 research under a pandemic-era emergency directive — but was never consulted about large language model training.  “The methodology appears to be new, contentious, and potentially with wide repercussions. It appears unlikely that a proposal would have been supported without additional, extraordinary agreements to permit it,” GP leaders wrote to Ming Tang, chief data and analytics officer at NHS England on 16 May, according to an email seen by POLITICO.  “The self-declared scope of this project appears inconsistent with the legal basis under which these data were to be used,” they added in the email to Tang. ICO DEMAND Another fault-line has opened up between doctors and NHS England over whether the Information Commissioner’s Office should be called in to conduct the audit externally. The Joint GP IT Committee — which represents GPs across the UK in discussions related to the use and management of GP data — asked NHS England to refer itself to the data watchdog over the issue following a meeting last Thursday. But Michael Chapman, director of research and clinical trials at NHS Digital, wrote to seven members of the committee that evening saying the review would instead be carried out in-house by the organization’s data protection officer “to establish the facts ahead of any approach to the [Information Commissioner’s Office],” citing “standard procedure when data protection concerns are raised,” according to an email seen by POLITICO.  That’s done little to placate doctors’ representatives, who are wary of allowing NHS England to mark its own homework given the gravity of the issue. In addition to demanding that the BMA be called as a witness to the Information Commissioner’s investigations, the Joint GP IT Committee also wants “explicit governance” over uses of AI and an undertaking that future emergency measures permitting the use of GP data contain a sunset clause if doctors haven’t been consulted, the person quoted above said. It comes as influential figures inside the governing Labour Party push to liberalize the use of NHS data. This week former Prime Minister Tony Blair made a surprise appearance at the SXSW festival in London alongside Tech Secretary Peter Kyle, where he said it was “absurd” that NHS data wasn’t routinely available for innovation.  Kyle also called for the U.K. to make better use of NHS data: “This government, this country, our state has the most extraordinarily powerful and rich data set, [more] than any other country in the world. Now, if we can use that data wisely and safely, then we can have the kinds of leaps and bounds forward for the scientific development for the commercialization of new techniques, new services, new medicines, and the understanding of humankind and social sciences that no other country in the world can do.”  An NHS spokesperson said: “Maintaining patient privacy is central to this project and we are grateful to the Joint GP IT Committee for raising its concerns and meeting with us to discuss the strict governance and controls in place to ensure patients’ data remains secure.”  The Department of Health and Social Care declined to comment. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology did not respond to a request for comment. 

Cases of measles in Europe have jumped to their highest level in 25 years, according to a United Nations report released Thursday. The virus resulted in 127,352 cases across the continent last year, the U.N. Children’s Fund report said, with the most infections recorded in Romania. Children under 5 accounted for 43 percent of all recorded cases in Europe and Central Asia in 2024. Despite a declining trend since 1997, a significant resurgence of measles was recorded in 2023 and 2024 following backsliding in immunization coverage during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Vaccination rates in many countries are yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, increasing the risk of outbreaks,” the report said. “Less than 80 percent of eligible children in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Romania were vaccinated with MCV1 in 2023 — far below the 95 percent coverage rate required to retain herd immunity,” the report said. Measles infects the respiratory tract and then spreads throughout the body. Symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose and a rash all over the body. Most deaths from measles are from complications related to the disease, such as encephalitis, kidney failure and hepatitis. UNICEF said that for every one person who has measles, 12 to 18 other people will be infected, according to the report. Infections in Europe and Central Asia makes up 35 percent of the global total, which amounted to 359,521 cases in 2024.

BRUSSELS ― Conservative leader Friedrich Merz won the German election Sunday and is on track to take the reins of the EU’s largest economy. It’s not yet clear exactly what the new German government will look like — or how far Merz will be able to reshape German politics as he sees fit. It’s likely to be weeks before coalition talks between Merz’s Christian Democratic alliance (CDU/CSU) and other parties reach an agreement and Merz becomes chancellor. Still, one thing looks certain: Merz will take Germany in a different direction from that of current Chancellor Olaf Scholz. It may not even look like the Germany that Angela Merkel, also of the CDU, led for 16 years, until 2021. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Early projection 2021 2025 25.7% SPD 24.1% CDU/CSU 14.7% Greens 11.4% FDP 10.4% AfD 8.7% Others 4.9% Left Social Democratic Party of Germany Christian Democratic Union of Germany Alliance 90/The Greens Free Democratic Party Alternative for Germany Others The Left Turnout: 76.35% 28.6% CDU/CSU 20.4% AfD 16.3% SPD 12.3% Greens 8.5% Left 4.9% BSW 4.7% FDP 4.3% Others Christian Democratic Union of Germany/Christian Social Union Alternative for Germany Social Democratic Party of Germany Alliance 90/The Greens The Left Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht Free Democratic Party Others Source: ARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Last month, Merz (unsuccessfully) pushed the German parliament for new migration measures with the support of the far-right Alternative for Germany party. It marked a clear departure from Merkel’s “Wir schaffen das” pledge to take in refugees. And there’s more. From a potential U-turn in Germany’s long-standing policy on nuclear energy and a more hawkish line on China, to plans to reboot the German-French axis to bolster EU trade, Merz could shake up the political landscape of Germany and, in one fell swoop, that of the European Union as a whole. Here’s what a Merz-led Germany means for the EU. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Defense Energy Climate Sustainability Mobility Trade Agriculture Central Banking Financial Services Competition Tech Cyber Health -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertisement DEFENSE Two days before the election, Merz issued a stark warning that Europe must be prepared to defend itself without the U.S. “We must prepare for the possibility that Donald Trump will no longer uphold NATO’s mutual defense commitment unconditionally,” Merz said in an interview with a German broadcaster, signaling that Germany may seek nuclear protection from European allies. “We need to have discussions with both the British and the French — the two European nuclear powers — about whether nuclear sharing, or at least nuclear security from the U.K. and France, could also apply to us,” he said. Elsewhere, Merz has promised big and broad policies to scale up Germany’s defense industry, and will be expected to follow through quickly on an earlier pledge to scrap his predecessor’s block on the dispatch of long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine for strikes on Russian targets. A major theme of his early weeks in the chancellery will be setting out how Berlin plans to raise the cash to expand on the €100 billion fund agreed under the Scholz government to finance an upgrade of the Bundeswehr’s gear and digs. That cash pot has been allocated and will be spent up by 2027 on massive procurement programs, raising questions over how Berlin plans to meet its obligations to NATO — which Merz has promised to do in the future — from the conventional national budget. “The 2 percent target may be pushed up again and then we will have to prepare ourselves for that,” Merz told POLITICO’s Berlin Playbook podcast of plans to further raise the NATO target given Trump has called for a 5 percent target. Select another policy area -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ENERGY Over the past few years, German energy policy has focused on turbocharging investment in renewable energy, shutting down nuclear reactors and scrambling to secure gas supplies from abroad to replace Russian imports.  Merz’s CDU has similarly vowed to “consistently use renewable energies, all of them.” But his political family, the center-right European People’s Party, is also pushing back against EU green energy targets. Meanwhile, Merz has taken a warmer tone toward nuclear energy than Scholz, which is challenging a long-standing German taboo around atomic power. While the country is unlikely to revive its shuttered reactors, a more lenient nuclear stance from Berlin could help pro-atomic countries persuade Brussels to treat atomic power more like renewables.  Merz has also said he wants to repeal Germany’s hard-fought Building Energy Law, which aims to accelerate a clean heating rollout — offering a potential signal to green skeptics in Europe.  Select another policy area -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertisement CLIMATE A Merz-led government will place less emphasis on climate change than Scholz’s coalition. Merz expressed concern on the campaign trail about the impact of climate policy on business, vowed to put economic growth above all other concerns and led a call to roll back several EU green regulations. But green advocates express confidence that in government Merz’s rhetorical hammer will turn feather duster. Industry, broadly, wants less bureaucracy, but it also wants consistent policy. Industrial stimulus can be used to help companies become greener and more efficient. “That they will not do it in the name of climate policy. Fine. If it’s economic policy for them. Fine,” said Linda Kalcher, executive director of the Strategic Perspectives think tank. Select another policy area -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUSTAINABILITY Merz, like Scholz, wants to delay key corporate sustainability reporting rules to boost Germany’s ailing industry. That means it’s pretty much assured that Germany under Merz would back a strong omnibus simplification bill for green rules, a proposal the European Commission is expected to release on Feb. 26. A Merz victory also means the center-right European People’s Party, which dominates the European Parliament and is Merz’s political family, once again has a powerful ally in the EU’s biggest economy. Already, the EPP has pushed hard to water down the EU anti-deforestation rule with the support of groups further to the right (mostly without success thus far). Select another policy area -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MOBILITY Merz is inheriting an economy in recession that is being further dragged down by a crisis engulfing its automotive sector. He recognizes the problems: high energy and labor costs, and stiff competition in the electric vehicle transition. But he’s been light on the details of how he intends to help automakers. In campaign speeches, he promised to cut red tape and reduce high costs but stopped short of putting support behind reforming Germany’s debt brake, which will keep Merz’s hands tied when it comes to funding such initiatives. Germany’s carmakers are highly dependent on the Chinese market, which led Scholz to acquiesce to Beijing’s wishes, such as lobbying against the made-in-China EV duties. Merz will take a harder line with China and has made clear to automakers that they should not come crawling to him if their Asian investments blow up. Select another policy area -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADE Taking a stronger line on Russia and China and rekindling old friendships with fellow EU leaders: Merz has his work cut out for him if he wants to link the German export economy to global growth hot spots like the Mercosur countries, Mexico or Southeast Asia. Merz recognizes that a functional Franco-German axis can create more trade deals, more certainty for companies and — eventually — a stronger Europe. “We have to overcome our dispute on Mercosur,” Merz told the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, saying he was in regular close contact with French President Emmanuel Macron. The Christian Democrat has also signaled a harder approach to China. Or, at least, he’s admitted the German economy is too dependent on Beijing’s woes and wishes. But just how hawkish Merz’s approach to trade will end up being is likely to be determined by who he ends up with as a coalition partner. Select another policy area -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertisement AGRICULTURE A victory for Merz’s CDU means Berlin will align on agricultural policy with both the largest political bloc in the European Parliament — the European People’s Party led by Bavarian Manfred Weber — and EU Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen. Ahead of negotiations over the future of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, Hansen has launched an overhaul of farm policy that would effectively roll back the green agenda of the last term and instead emphasize making farming a more attractive and economically viable occupation. In its campaign platform, Merz’s CDU said it wants a CAP “that serves farmers.” Scholz’s center-left government pushed initiatives to support organic farming and reduce food waste. But it clashed with farmers a year ago over its decision to scrap tax breaks on agricultural diesel. The CDU said it will reinstate the diesel tax break and take broader action to strengthen planning security for farmers. “With the CDU, no farmer will have to protest with his tractor in front of the Brandenburg Gate anymore,” the party said. Select another policy area -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CENTRAL BANKING Merz’s chancellorship will mark the return of conservative opposition to meddling with Germany’s notorious debt brake, which limits government deficit spending to 0.35 percent a year and is seen by many as the cause of the shoddy state of the country’s infrastructure.  Scholz’s efforts to tamper with the brake caused the collapse of his government, and Merz’s CDU faction is fiercely opposed to any reform — up to a point. Surprisingly enough, Merz himself, during a TV debate earlier this month, intimated openness to some fine-tuning, but not before other solutions are tried. Timid, yes, but revolutionary from a Christian Democrat.  Otherwise, financial markets are broadly skeptical that Merz can do much to stall Germany’s well-documented economic decline, with gross domestic product expected to contract 0.5 percent in 2025. During the race, the choice between the two parties’ economic policies was ultimately “superficial,” ING Global Head of Macro Carsten Brzeski lamented in a note earlier this month, noting that Merz’s plans for tax and spending cuts reflected an almost spiritual faith in free markets — the very same markets that have dealt such a humiliating blow to Germany’s economic prestige.  Merz will also have critical sway over the outcome of a major transnational banking battle that could put EU ideals to the test. When Milanese lender UniCredit made its surprise bid on Germany’s Commerzbank last year, it looked like exactly the kind of cross-border banking consolidation that Mario Draghi was advocating in his landmark report — until Scholz’s government reacted with horror and dreamed up wild schemes to block it. UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel has since said he will wait on Merz’s position before making another move, but it’s hard to imagine the new leader will be any more keen to give away one of the country’s most prized lenders.  Select another policy area -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FINANCIAL SERVICES Merz holds the keys to significantly boosting Europe’s defense capabilities in the years to come. As Trump pressures Europe to pony up military spending, many in Brussels are anxiously waiting for Germany to give its blessing for the European Commission to borrow money on behalf of member countries. Highly indebted countries such as France, Italy and Spain who fall short of NATO’s defense spending target argue that receiving “free money” from Brussels is the only way for them to drastically increase military spending without making politically unpopular cuts to other budget areas.  Merz warmed to this idea during the election campaign — and supporters hope that his backing will defeat opposition from frugal allies such as Austria and the Netherlands. There are many less controversial ideas on the table, such as exempting defense from EU spending rules or increasing military funds in the EU’s new multiyear budget that will come into force in 2028. But supporters of common debt argue that none of these will be enough to meet the scale of the challenge alone.  Select another policy area -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMPETITION Germany’s industrial giants are flailing and shedding jobs. Merz will be expected to act. His party’s manifesto called for “Made in Germany” champions and for a modern antitrust and competition law “that uses a global market as a benchmark,”  references to the Siemens-Alstom deal to create a European rail champion that was blocked by the EU. Merz is also a fan of cross-border state-funded projects, known as Important Projects of Common European Interest, saying he wants to use such instruments “as effectively as possible in Germany.” The country has been one of the driving forces of several IPCEIs, which have led to the public financing of hydrogen, batteries and cloud infrastructure. He also wants Germany’s national rail company Deutsche Bahn to be streamlined and restructured, with infrastructure and transport separated “to increase competition.” Given the dire state of German rail, this could prove to be a popular move. Select another policy area -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertisement TECH Merz sees digital transformation as the key to Germany’s industrial revival and wants to turn the country into Europe’s tech front-runner. His plan is to earmark 3.5 percent of gross domestic product to research and development by 2030, with a special focus on space, quantum computing, artificial intelligence and cloud technologies. Key proposals include setting up a standalone digital ministry (currently merged with transport) and offering new startups temporary relief from red tape. Merz has also said that bureaucracy in Berlin and Brussels needs to be drastically reduced for Germany to regain its competitive edge. This stance is in line with the center-right views in EU institutions, where a major push to simplify digital rules is underway.  Select another policy area -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CYBER In the months leading up to the German election, Berlin’s lawmakers looked to toughen up restrictions on (and potentially ban) high-risk vendors — cough, Chinese suppliers like Huawei — to implement the EU’s rules on cybersecurity in critical sectors. With work on the draft law rolling over, Merz will be faced with a decision on whether to crack down on Chinese tech in Germany’s critical sectors. His CDU party said that it wants to maintain close economic relations with China, but also committed to taking steps to protect critical infrastructure and security relevant technology.   The party manifesto also outlined a sweeping change of course in terms of data protection policy, encouraging more “pragmatic” rules that allow data to be used for innovation and growth, as well as law enforcement.  Select another policy area -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEALTH A Merz win signals a blow for Germany’s cannabis users, after the CDU leader pledged to reverse last year’s partial decriminalization of the drug. He blames the new policies, which allow adults to possess up to 25 grams of cannabis in public and grow three plants per household, for an increase in drug-related crime.  It could be good news for fans of the EU’s new rules to digitalize European health records, the European Health Data Space. In an attempt to force notoriously analog Germans away from paper files, Merz has suggested that anyone who stores their data in an electronic patient file could receive a discount on health insurance contributions.  Select another policy area -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Victor Jack, Karl Mathiesen, James Fernyhough, Joshua Posaner, Jordyn Dahl, Koen Verhelst, Douglas Busvine, Ben Munster, Gregorio Sorgi, Aude van den Hove, Mathieu Pollet, Eliza Gkritsi, Ellen O’Regan, Mari Eccles and Hanne Cokelaere contributed to this article.

United States President Donald Trump late Saturday said he may consider rejoining the World Health Organization — days after signing an executive order announcing America’s intention to leave. “Maybe we would consider doing it again. I don’t know. Maybe we would have to clean it up a little bit,” Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas, while complaining that the U.S. paid more into the global health agency than China, which has a much bigger population. Trump ordered a U.S. exit from the WHO on Monday, citing what he described as a mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic and other international health crises. It is Trump’s second attempt at withdrawing the U.S. from the WHO. The U.S. withdrawal will generate a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars for the WHO’s core budget, hindering the global health agency’s ability to effectively respond to infectious disease outbreaks and other emergencies around the world. The WHO is freezing recruitment and slashing travel in response to the U.S. withdrawal, according to an internal email seen by POLITICO. The U.S., meanwhile, is expected to lose access to the global network that sets the flu vaccine’s composition every year.

It’s been a hell of a ride for Ursula von der Leyen’s first team atop the European Commission from 2019-2024.  Those five years were dominated by one war on Europe’s doorstep and another in the Middle East, an ongoing energy crisis and a response to a global pandemic, as the Commission attempted to deliver on climate promises, advances on artificial intelligence and even a cure for cancer. In a note to staff, von der Leyen praised the outgoing Commission for fulfilling a promise to be “bold and ambitious” in meeting the aspirations of EU citizens and tackling the challenges ahead. They exceeded that promise, she added.  How do those internal compliments match up with what was promised and ultimately delivered?  Here’s POLITICO’s report card on the outgoing Commission. See who flunked and who passed the five-year policy test.  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Von der leyen Dombrovskis Vestager Borrell Jourová Kyriakides Šefčovič Hoekstra Wojciechowski Gentiloni McGuinness Dalli Schmit Ivanova Várhelyi Urpilainen Vălean Sinkevičius Simson Breton Schinas Šuica Lenarčič Ferreira Hahn Johansson Reynders -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT Verdict: Von der Leyen went from an unknown and an unexpected choice to helm the EU executive, to one of its most powerful leaders in recent history during her first term. She used the pandemic and the fallout of Russia’s war on Ukraine to tighten her grip on Europe’s decision-making process and to elevate her own public image beyond the corridors of Brussels institutions. While also criticized, her centralized decision-making helped Europe react quickly to crises. For her second term, as the war in Ukraine continues with no end in sight, she’ll have to steer the bloc through a second Donald Trump presidency while ensuring a more competitive EU versus the U.S. and China and delivering on the bloc’s climate targets. Grade: B- Back to the top VALDIS DOMBROVSKIS, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR AN ECONOMY THAT WORKS FOR PEOPLE AND EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR TRADE Verdict: The former Latvian premier could be living proof of the adage that the length of a job’s title is inversely proportional to its influence. Handed a broad remit covering the economy and trade, Dombrovskis lacked the power to make a difference as the EU faced major headwinds. First the pandemic, and then Russia’s war on Ukraine not only ravaged growth but led to a cost-of-living crisis. Meanwhile, an increasingly hostile geopolitical climate put free-trade deals out of reach as protectionism took hold. Still, Dombrovskis kept his composure — and famed poker face — through the ups and downs of his term. That dependable showing has now landed him another impossible task in von der Leyen’s second cabinet: simplifying the EU’s rampant bureaucracy. Grade: C+ Back to the top MARGRETHE VESTAGER, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR A EUROPE FIT FOR A DIGITAL AGE Verdict: Vestager started her second term as antitrust chief with a fearsome reputation for fining big tech. Armed with a larger role ruling over tech policy, she pushed through landmark digital rules to rein in tech giants that have forced them to change their businesses. State aid proved more of a challenge during the pandemic, as governments lobbied for and against softer rules to allow more subsidies. One blot on her reign was Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, who called himself the “digital enforcer” and often sniped with her over key projects such as trying to unlock funding for chips. Grade: A- Back to the top JOSEP BORRELL, VICE PRESIDENT AND HIGH REPRESENTATIVE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND SECURITY POLICY Verdict: The Spanish socialist was dealt a tough hand as the EU’s top diplomatic envoy. Halfway through his term, two wars broke out that would come to dominate his time in office. Borrell’s staunch backing for Ukraine earned broad support among EU capitals, but his statements on Israel made him an adversary of the conservative European People’s Party (EPP), the EU’s most powerful political group. Critics argue that Borrell has little to show for his advocacy on the Middle East, while other areas such as the Western Balkans suffered neglect. Such critiques, combined with Borrell’s propensity for gaffes, make for a mixed report. Grade: C Back to the top VĚRA JOUROVÁ, VICE PRESIDENT FOR VALUES AND TRANSPARENCY Verdict: The Czech politician was at the center of two major battles, one offline and one online. Offline, she fronted the European Commission’s tussle with Viktor Orbán’s government in Hungary over the rule of law. Online she led Brussels’ fight against disinformation and foreign interference and in support of media freedom across the bloc. A staunch liberal and a feisty commissioner, Jourová was known to shake the tree in interviews, terming Elon Musk a “promoter of evil” and in June calling out the Italian government of Giorgia Meloni for its handling of media freedom. In Brussels she maintained friendly relations with her peers and kept her complicated relationship with Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders mostly out of the public arena. Grade: B+ Vera Jourova. | Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images Back to the top STELLA KYRIAKIDES, HEALTH AND FOOD SAFETY Verdict: At first glance, Kyriakides pushed through more EU health policy than her predecessors, including new legislation to assess medicines, to finance the drugs regulator and to integrate EU health data, as well as starting a mammoth overhaul of pharma rules. She also led quick revisions of rules governing drugs and disease agencies amid the Covid pandemic and led initiatives on mental health and cancer. Health officials and experts praised her work, which included confronting Big Pharma, but lamented that her EU public health legacy wasn’t more substantial, as illustrated by the surge in vaccine hesitancy and the lack of progress on tobacco legislation.  Grade: A- Back to the top MAROŠ ŠEFČOVIČ, VICE PRESIDENT FOR THE EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL, INTERINSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS AND FORESIGHT Verdict: After 15 years on the European Commission, Šefčovič is now as much a part of the Berlaymont as stale breakfast-meeting croissants. This term he applied his experience to a dazzling array of messy briefs. From EU-U.K. relations to the only slightly less fraught interactions among EU institutions, von der Leyen believed Šefčovič’s callused hands were impervious to thorns. She turned to him to replace Frans Timmermans just as the consensus around the Green Deal broke down; on climate issues, meanwhile, he mostly took a back seat to Wopke Hoekstra (see below), but did help von der Leyen by taking on important listening tours with farmers and discontented industry groups. He’ll be back for a fourth term, nabbing the coveted trade portfolio. Grade: B Back to the top WOPKE HOEKSTRA, CLIMATE ACTION Verdict: Green groups were deeply skeptical that the Dutchman taking on the climate brief for the last year of the first von der Leyen Commission would prove a fellow traveler. His CV, after all, listed stints at Shell and McKinsey before he joined the Dutch government. But Hoekstra flipped the script and proved an able, at times even passionate defender of the EU’s climate goals. His penchant for carbon pricing is well known, and helped him not only keep his job but also expand it to include a taxation sidebar. Grade: A- Back to the top JANUSZ WOJCIECHOWSKI, AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT Verdict: Poland’s farm chief has been called one of the worst commissioners in EU history. He tried, but ultimately the 70-year-old politician didn’t have the negotiating chops to reform the bloc’s broken agrifood system. As the sole hard-right commissioner, Wojciechowski was isolated early on, a status that was only worsened by his micromanaging boss, Frans Timmermans, who was a backseat driver during the green transition for agriculture. The disgruntled Pole ended up traveling home often, contradicting his colleagues and increasingly pandering to farmer lobbies. He dreams of being remembered in Brussels; he’ll be lucky if he’s forgotten. Grade: D- Back to the top PAOLO GENTILONI, ECONOMY Verdict: The former Italian prime minister’s oversight of the EU economy came during an extraordinary period that included an unprecedented pandemic, the Ukraine war and a subsequent inflation crisis that tore through the bloc. These unique circumstances produced some radical political steps from the bloc’s executive, including the suspension and reform of the European Commission’s fiscal-rule regime and the creation of an €800 billion cash pot to help national economies recover from the multiple crises. While that bold response forestalled a broader economic crisis, it was not uncontroversial. Independent watchdogs said they were unable assess the impact of the new EU funds, while growth remains modest. On other matters, such as taxation, Gentiloni’s term was far less ambitious in its goals and centered more on international deals, given previous failures to convince governments to back more radical domestic amendments. Grade: B+ Back to the top MAIREAD MCGUINNESS, FINANCIAL SERVICES, FINANCIAL STABILITY AND CAPITAL MARKETS UNION Verdict: McGuinness became a commissioner unexpectedly in 2020 after Phil Hogan resigned over the “Golfgate” scandal, as Ireland was downgraded from the powerful trade portfolio to financial services. But the former journalist and MEP made it work: She oversaw the release of new finance legislation, from banking and markets rules to clearing and green finance, focusing on policies that chimed with the public. She was hamstrung by industry lobbying, especially on making investing easier and cheaper for regular people, where a massive pre-emptive lobbying effort killed off the most ambitious parts of her proposals before the Commission had a chance to publish them. Known as energetic and personable, McGuiness connected with people, but often found herself in the crosshairs of more powerful EU figures on control of sanctions oversight and the digital euro.  Grade: B Back to the top HELENA DALLI, EQUALITY  Verdict: A member of the Malta Labour Party, Dalli became Europe’s first equality commissioner in 2019, delivering significant contributions during her mandate. She pushed for major directives such as the European Disability Rights Strategy and a directive to ensure equal pay transparency for men and women. In April, the largest European women’s rights network applauded her landmark directive on combating violence against women, while another equality group highlighted Dalli’s failure to criminalize forced sterilization as a missed opportunity. Her achievements drew little fanfare, however, and Dalli’s obscure public presence and minimal visibility may ultimately have proven her greatest weakness.  Grade: B+ Back to the top NICOLAS SCHMIT, JOBS AND SOCIAL RIGHTS Verdict: To his fans, Schmit was a knowledgeable commissioner whose experience as Luxembourg’s minister for employment coupled with his knowledge of Brussels politics helped him deliver. His achievements included the minimum wage directive, which was aimed at improving wages and collective bargaining across the bloc, and the hard-fought platform workers directive, meant to improve the working rights of users of digital labor platforms such as Uber and Deliveroo. To his detractors, however, he was a von der Leyen yes-man — even when challenging her as Commission president — who didn’t fight hard enough as a member of the College of Commissioners to push for more stringent regulations on social rights.  Grade: B Back to the top ILIANA IVANOVA, INNOVATION, RESEARCH, CULTURE, EDUCATION AND YOUTH Verdict: Admittedly, a year is not a lot of time in which to leave your mark as a European commissioner, especially when you’ve been handed the innovation portfolio. The Bulgarian, who filled in for compatriot Mariya Gabriel as commissioner in September 2023, highlighted the challenges that plague researchers and startups, such as critical technology leaking to China or difficulties in tapping growth funding — and did so in a more media-savvy way than her predecessor. But in arriving so late in the mandate she was unable to differentiate herself by attaching her name to a major rulebook, or by claiming credit for any research, innovation or startup success. She now returns to her previous job — underlining her status as a placeholder.  Grade: D+ Back to the top OLIVÉR VÁRHELYI, NEIGHBOURHOOD AND ENLARGEMENT Verdict: Just like Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán in the European Council, Várhelyi was the black sheep on the Commission. His enlargement portfolio rose to the top of the political agenda after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but he was widely seen as too partial in reviewing the efforts of Ukraine and other countries to join the bloc. The former Hungarian ambassador to the EU also triggered a major controversy when he announced a freeze on aid to the Palestinian territories in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year. He was immediately overruled by EU foreign affairs chief Borrell and, later, by von der Leyen.  Grade: F Olivér Várhelyi. | John Thys/AFP via Getty Images Back to the top JUTTA URPILAINEN, INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS Verdict: The Finn cemented the EU’s new approach to third countries via the flagship Global Gateway initiative, which mobilized up to €300 billion in public and private funds to finance infrastructure projects abroad, thereby offering those nations an alternative to China’s strategic largesse in its Belt and Road Initiative. But there were doubts whether Urpilainen had the political clout to defend Europe’s response to geopolitical competition within and outside the bloc. The supporters of Global Gateway have high hopes that upcoming Czech Commissioner Jozef Síkela will be an upgrade for the department overseeing Global Gateway. Grade: C- Back to the top ADINA VĂLEAN, TRANSPORT Verdict: An MEP since 2007, Vălean is in her element in the European Parliament. As a transport commissioner, however, she seemed out of sync, at times even bored with the legislation she was tasked with defending. Lawmakers and diplomats complained she lacked vision for transport, with one official singling her out as the most absentee commissioner within the EU executive even as her department churned out a long list of legislative texts. The commissioner won praise from some for her Covid certificates, which rebooted travel, and for the “green lanes” allowing trucks to circulate when countries shut their borders in futile attempts to halt the spread of Covid. And when Russia invaded Ukraine and halted its sea trade, the “solidarity lanes” that bolstered Ukrainian land exports were a key part of the EU’s response to the war. Grade: C- Back to the top VIRGINIJUS SINKEVIČIUS, ENVIRONMENT, OCEANS AND FISHERIES Verdict: The youngest-ever commissioner performed well in what turned out to be a relatively difficult portfolio, in which he had to balance economic interests with environmental protection. Lithuania’s former economy minister fought to get the contentious Green Deal legislation through, including new rules to prevent imports of products driving global deforestation; legislation to cut packaging waste or make consumer goods greener; air pollution limits; and attempts to boost the restoration of the natural environment. He was a strong advocate of the Green Deal, but failed to push through the much-awaited revision of the EU’s chemicals framework regulation (REACH) or set sweeping new rules, as promised, to decrease microplastic pollution. Overall, though, whatever you think of the Green Deal, his was a massive political achievement.  Grade: A- Back to the top KADRI SIMSON, ENERGY Verdict: Simson had a tough term with Russia’s war in Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis. But her biggest struggle was to establish herself in a Commission where key parts of her role were hoovered up by von der Leyen, ex-Green Deal chief Timmermans and Šefčovič. Her advocacy of greater support for Ukraine’s beleaguered energy grid in the face of Russian attacks deserves credit, and she was able to chart a course through stacks of complex legislation without any major crises. But quiet competence is rarely enough to stand out in a crowded field.  Grade: C Back to the top THIERRY BRETON, INTERNAL MARKET AND SERVICES Verdict: In charge of a huge portfolio spanning tech and industrial policy, the French commissioner vowed to use his experience as a tech chief executive to get things done for the EU. That formula worked for a time, with Breton coordinating EU medical supply production early in the Covid pandemic and helping to deliver the AI Act, the world’s first binding regulation on artificial intelligence. But Breton’s aggressive approach to EU politics and his repeated challenges to von der Leyen worked against him in the end, leading to his early exit from the Commission. Grade: C+ Back to the top MARGARITIS SCHINAS, VICE PRESIDENT FOR PROMOTING OUR EUROPEAN WAY OF LIFE Verdict: The Greek politician’s job was primarily focused on a new package of rules on how the bloc would manage migration. Schinas duly delivered the package, which had been under discussion for nearly a decade. In the final months of his term, however, 15 EU capitals demanded further changes to the bloc’s rules on migration, suggesting that the Migration Pact was not all it was cracked up to be. On other aspects of his job, namely upholding justice and core values, Schinas let other commissioners take the lead.  Grade: B- Back to the top DUBRAVKA ŠUICA, DEMOCRACY AND DEMOGRAPHY Verdict: Šuica had one of the Commission’s more loosely defined portfolios, with a focus on improving EU democracy. A key deliverable was organizing the Conference on the Future of Europe — a series of debates geared at making the EU feel more democratic, which the Croatian politician delivered in 2022. While the bloc is implementing much of the low-hanging fruit from the conference, it has balked at larger changes, such as plans to scrap unanimous decision-making in foreign policy. While her first term at the Commission was low-key, Šuica won von der Leyen’s confidence to earn a second term in the Berlaymont. Grade: B+ Back to the top JANEZ LENARČIČ, HUMANITARIAN AID AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT Verdict: Slovenia was tasked with improving the EU’s response to emergencies such as natural disasters and promoting humanitarian law. Lenarčič was an early pick to serve on von der Leyen’s Covid response team, where he was overshadowed by commissioners with more power — namely Breton and von der Leyen herself. On humanitarian law, Lenarčič established himself as a key critic of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. On crisis management, however, he failed to make much of an impact, not least during the recent deadly floods in Valencia, Spain. Grade: B Back to the top ELISA FERREIRA, COHESION AND REFORMS Verdict: The Portuguese socialist was in charge of EU spending in poorer regions at a time when the program was overshadowed by the bloc’s €800 billion post-pandemic recovery fund, which largely neglected the local impact of investments. Ferreira’s influence was diminished by von der Leyen’s disinterest in regional policy and, more generally, by multiple crises that shifted attention elsewhere. The EU’s cohesion budget was used to fund medical equipment during the Covid crisis and assistance to Ukrainian refugees — undermining its core task of reducing inequalities across regions. While Ferreira passionately defended regional funding against growing criticism, she failed to articulate a vision of how to structure this policy in the future. Grade: C Back to the top JOHANNES HAHN, BUDGET Verdict: The experienced Austrian politician played a role in the EU’s most politically sensitive decisions, including funding to Ukraine, post-Covid financing and withholding EU cash to Hungary over its democratic backsliding. Hahn got the job done in most cases, even though von der Leyen frequently stole the limelight. In his five years, however, he achieved little progress on the introduction of EU-wide taxes to repay the bloc’s Covid debt, largely due to national resistance. In his final months in power he became reticent and arguably gave senior officials in his department too much freedom to float radical ideas that were politically toxic. With the EU’s new budget looming, Hahn’s Polish successor Piotr Serafin is likely to wield comparatively greater power. Grade: C Back to the top YLVA JOHANSSON, HOME AFFAIRS  Verdict: The blunt Swedish politician found a niche in what could be called both a broad and a narrow remit by focusing much of her attention on Europe’s approach to tech. A high-profile commissioner, Johansson called for tech companies to better screen their platforms for terrorism and child pornography, and urged Europol to process content and as a transformed digital agency. She struggled to oversee migration, a portfolio guarded closely by national governments, but stood strong in holding them to account for their policies, including slamming Greece for reportedly forcing migrants onto an emergency raft and abandoning them in the Aegean Sea in 2023. Grade: A- Back to the top DIDIER REYNDERS, JUSTICE Verdict: A Belgian political veteran, Reynders played his Berlaymont role in overseeing the EU’s high-profile legal stand-off with Hungary over the rule of law without — crucially — upstaging his boss. Known in his home country as Mr. Teflon for his ability to shake off political scandals, Reynders’ success as commissioner meant he steered clear of political live wires, as seen in his muted responses to national spyware scandals. One failure: Reynders emerges from the job without having lined up another high-profile gig, having lost — for the second time — his bid to lead the Council of Europe in the summer. Grade: C Back to the top Max Griera, Sejla Ahmatovic, Barbara Moens, Nicholas Vinocur, Alessandro Ford, Douglas Busvine, Kathryn Carlson, Pieter Haeck, Gregorio Sorgi, Izabella Kaminska, Giovanna Faggionato, Helen Collis, Louise Guillot, Laurens Cerulus, and Aoife White contributed reporting.