The three countries that had not yet done so announced, on 24 November, their choice of commissioners for the next EU executive.

Malta appointed its Social Policy Minister, John Dalli; Denmark its Climate and Energy Minister, Connie Hedegaard; and the Netherlands its current Competition Commissioner, Neelie Kroes. The Commission chief, Portugal's José Manuel Barroso, now holds all the cards he needs to start handing out portfolios, a process that is in fact already well under way. The task is not easy because of the need to try to satisfy all the different member states. Barroso admitted, on 24 November in Strasbourg, that "there is still pressure but I will assume full responsibility".

He also announced that there would be nine women in his team, one more than in the current Commission. The environment portfolio may be split in two, with environment on the one hand and action against climate change on the other (with responsibility for Copenhagen conference follow-up), and the justice and home affairs portfolio could be split into justice and fundamental rights on the one hand and home affairs on the other.

For the distribution of portfolios, apart from the UK for foreign affairs, France looks likely to get the internal market (and financial services?), Germany energy or industry, the Netherlands trade, Spain economic affairs or competition, Italy transport, Denmark action against climate change, Romania agriculture, Bulgaria enlargement, Poland the budget, Estonia administration and Sweden fundamental rights. The announcement of the final composition is expected in late November or early December.

List of candidate commissioners

The names of all the commissioners expected to form the next EU executive are now known. They are:

- AT - Austria: Johannes Hahn

- BE - Belgium: Karel De Gucht

- BG - Bulgaria: Rumiana Zheleva

- CZ – Czech Republic: Stefan Füle

- CY - Cyprus: Androulla Vassiliou

- DE - Germany: Günther Oettinger

- DK - Denmark: Connie Hedegaard

- EE - Estonia: Siim Kallas

- IE - Ireland: Máire Geoghegan Quinn

- EL - Greece: Maria Damanaki

- ES - Spain: Joaquín Almunia

- FI - Finland: Olli Rehn

- FR - France: Michel Barnier

- HU - Hungary: László Andor

- IT - Italy: Antonio Tajani

- LT - Lithuania: Algirdas Semeta

- LU - Luxembourg: Viviane Reding

- LV - Latvia: Andris Piebalgs

- MT - Malta: John Dalli

- NL - Netherlands: Neelie Kroes

- PL - Poland: Janusz Lewandowski

- PT - Portugal: José Manuel Barroso

- RO - Romania: Dacian Ciolos

- SK - Slovakia: Maros Sefcovic

- SI - Slovenia: Janez Potocnik

- SU - Sweden: Cecilia Malmström

- UK - United Kingdom: Catherine Ashton