Teresa Ribera

A saga that has lasted nearly four months is expected to come to a close tonight in Strasbourg, as MEPs attending the plenary session of theEuropean Parliament will be asked to decide whether to give a vote of confidence to the College of Commissioners, or “Commission von der Leyen 2.0”.

A European political drama unfolded into the early hours of Thursday morning, as the approval of all European Commissioners by the relevant European Parliament committees remained uncertain.

On Wednesday, the European Parliament agreed to approve all seven pending European Commissioner candidates, according to Politico, citing four MEPs and political officials.

After weeks of fierce political horse-trading, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen unveiled Tuesday her new top team to help steward the EU through the next five years of global uncertainty.

Faced with Russia's war in Ukraine, the potential return of Donald Trump as U.S. president and competition from China, the formation of the new commission comes at a crucial moment.

Greece's Apostolos Tzitzikostas has been assigned the transport and tourism portfolio in the next European Union executive, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday, announcing the body's new makeup.

The governor of Central Macedonia had been nominated for a post in the new Commission in early August.

What does the future hold for EU climate policies? Next week's unveiling of the new European Commission will be watched closely for clues—at a time when defending the environment has slipped down the list of priorities in Brussels.

It is a far cry from five years ago.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has largely finalized her team for the upcoming term, with several key positions already designated. According to the German newspaper "WELT," which was cited by BGNES, the role of vice-president for economic affairs is set to go to Raffaele Fitto from the Italian Brothers party.

A planned underwater energy pipeline linking Barcelona in Spain and Marseille in France could take up to seven years to build, Spain's energy minister has said.    

Faced with a historic drought and threatened by desertification, Spain is rethinking how it spends its water resources, which are used mainly to irrigate crops.