Christophe Hansen: The next Commissioner for Agriculture?

When it comes to who could become the next EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Luxembourg's Christophe Hansen is one of the most frequently mentioned names in Brussels. Last week, the Luxembourg government nominated the EPP politician as EU Commissioner. Although it is still unclear which dossiers will go to which countries, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will reportedly not present the final list until mid-September.

However, it has already become clear that Christophe Hansen is interested in the job of Commissioner for Agriculture. This distinguishes Luxembourg from countries such as Portugal or Austria, which have also been rumored to be interested in the post in the meantime, but have nominated financial politicians as commissioners.

"Yes, I come from an agricultural family, yes, I have worked a lot on agricultural and environmental dossiers ", Hansen admits after his nomination in an interview with Luxembourg broadcaster RTL. However, it is still too early to speculate on the distribution of the dossiers. Nevertheless, the 42-year-old repeatedly steers the conversation towards agricultural issues himself, talking about reducing bureaucracy and more leeway in implementing rules on the ground.

Hansen, who has been a member of the EU Parliament since 2018 with a brief interruption, has so far mainly appeared as an environmental and trade politician. However, he has also had contact with agricultural issues. In the last legislative period, for example, he led the negotiations on the controversial anti-deforestation regulation as Parliament's rapporteur. He also recently defended the latter – despite growing criticism, including from his own party group, of the rules, which are due to come into force at the end of the year.

However, the Luxembourger has also come into direct contact with agricultural issues in the course of his career: During his short time as a member of the Luxembourg Parliament, from November 2023 to July of this year, Hansen was a member of the Agriculture Committee. At the beginning of his career, as an assistant to the then-MEP Astrid Lulling, he also worked on agricultural dossiers. On a personal level, Hansen not only comes from an agricultural family in the north of Luxembourg, but his cousin, Martine Hansen, is also the country's Minister of Agriculture.

The fact that Hansen has come into contact with agricultural issues so far, but only marginally, could play into von der Leyen's hands if she chooses him for the agriculture dossier. As a conservative environmental politician, Hansen could act as a link : Between his and von der Leyen's own party, the EPP, on the one hand, which would get a Commissioner for Agriculture from its own camp as promised. And more progressive forces on the other, which von der Leyen relies on in Parliament and which could be alienated by an overly hard-headed agricultural politician.

Hansen himself seems to be aware that he would have to walk such a political tightrope as Commissioner for Agriculture. In the RTL interview, he emphasizes the importance of balance and dialogue : "You have to seek dialogue with the people on the ground, with environmental organizations, with agricultural associations."

The Luxembourger also lets it slip that he could imagine forming a counterweight to Spanish Social Democrat Teresa Ribera, who is likely to be awarded a powerful portfolio in the area of climate and the environment. "It is Ms von der Leyen's job to ensure that a balance is ultimately struck between the various dossiers and political colors", says Hansen. In terms of content, this means: " We have to make sure that we create policies that can also be implemented." jd