Few people expected the European Commission's proposed new team to emerge intact from the confirmation hearings that started in the European Parliament this week. Claiming the scalp of at least one aspiring commissioner has become a tradition for the eu's elected legislature. But the decision of a parliamentary committee to rule out two nominees before the full hearings had even started, an unprecedented move, suggests that the parliament's vetting process will be even spikier this time round. By the time The Economist went to press the fate of three more nominees, including France's Sylvie Goulard (a close associate of President Emmanuel Macron) appeared uncertain.
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