The European Parliament approved the appointment of CDA member Wopke Hoekstra as climate commissioner on Thursday afternoon. Hoekstra received 279 votes in favor, 173 parliamentarians were against. This makes his appointment permanent. Hoekstra succeeds Frans Timmermans in Brussels. Timmermans is party leader for GroenLinks-PvdA in the House of Representatives elections in November.
Also read: Wopke Hoekstra must ‘do his best’ in Strasbourg
Hoekstra’s name as European Commissioner for Climate did not sound logical to everyone: as CDA leader he hardly profiled himself on that theme. Earlier this week he therefore had to take a ‘climate exam’ for the environment committee of parliament. He was subjected to an hours-long hearing in Brussels about his climate plans. Hoekstra showed himself to be ambitious: he spoke, among other things, about phasing out fossil subsidies and an international climate damage fund.
Hoekstra previously had the support of the liberal and Christian Democratic wing in the European Parliament. More progressive parliamentarians from the Green and Social Democratic factions were more skeptical, but agreed after Hoekstra answered their critical questions. Hoekstra was previously Minister of Foreign Affairs and Finance in two cabinets, Rutte III and IV.