European Parliament approves Hoekstra's appointment as Climate Commissioner

As expected, the European Parliament has approved the appointment of Wopke Hoekstra to the European Commission. 270 parliamentarians were in favor, 173 against, and 33 abstained from voting. A simple majority was required for the appointment. They also supported Maroš Šefčovič’s candidacy.

Parliament held a secret ballot, so it couldn’t say who was in favor of the commissioners and who was against them. However, hours of interrogation and the answering of written questions preceded the vote. Hoekstra was vetted by the representatives, and afterward, it became clear that he could count on support.

CDA, VVD, and GroenLinks had announced support for Hoekstra in advance. PvdA, SGP, the former JA21 members, and PvdD declared their opposition. PvdA MEP Mohammed Chahim changed his mind at the last minute. He supported Hoekstra’s candidacy because he wanted to follow the party line as vice-chairman of the S&D faction, he wrote on X.