Von der Leyen names European Commission's new top team

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday named Spain's ecological transition minister Teresa Ribera as the bloc's next antitrust commissioner while Estonia's Kaja Kallas will be in charge of foreign policy.

Lithuania's Andrius Kubilius will become the EU's first defence commissioner - a new role designed to build up European military manufacturing capacity in the face of Russian aggression in Europe's eastern flank.

Other names on the list of EU Commissioners include French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne in charge of industrial strategy, while Slovakia's Maros Sefcovic will oversee trade policies.

The Commission is the 27-country European Union's most powerful institution. It has the power to propose new EU laws, block mergers between companies and sign free trade deals.

Each EU member state will have one seat at the Commission's table, a role comparable to a government minister, although its political weight varies greatly depending on the portfolio.

All candidates will undergo hearings with lawmakers in the European Parliament who have to sign off on their nomination.

Ribera will need to fill the footsteps of Denmark's long-serving antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, who in recent years stepped up the pressure on Big Tech to allow fair competition on its platforms.

She will also oversee the EU's stance on foreign subsidies, another hot-button issue as companies in key sectors like electric vehicles and energy production are struggling to defend their business models against cheap competition from abroad, particularly from China.

All commissioners will report to German conservative von der Leyen, who this summer was handed a second term as EU chief executive by member states after her political camp won