Commissioners pick their teams

Tibor Navracsics of Hungary, who has been assigned the portfolio of education, culture, youth and citizenship in the next European Commission, has chosen Jonathan Hill to head his private office.

Hill is curently deputy head of the private office of the current commissioner for education and culture, Androulla Vassiliou. Confusingly, Jonathan Hill is also the name of the UK’s nominee for the Commission.

Jyrki Katainen, Finland’s European commissioner, who holds the portfolio of economic and monetary affairs and the euro in the current Commission and has been designated vice-president in charge of jobs, growth, investment and competitiveness in the next Commission, has recruited Hilde Hardeman to his private office, as deputy head.

Hardeman, who is Belgian, was head of the briefing unit for Commission President José Manuel Barroso in 2011-14. Before that she was a head of unit in the Commission’s external relations department dealing with Russia and Northern Dimension policy in 2008-10, and Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus in 2005-08.

The idea is that she will stay in the Katainen cabinet if he makes it through the confirmation hearings into the next term.