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Hearings of the Commissioners Designate.

In July, MEPs elected Ursula von der Leyen as the next European Commission president,

but before the new Commission can take office, it'll need to pass one more test.

The public hearings, organized by the Parliament, to assess the suitability of the commissioners

designated for their jobs.

But how does that process work?

Stay with us and we will walk you through the ins and out of this exciting process.

At the end of May, more than 200 million Europeans in 28 EU countries went to the polls to elect the members of the next European Parliament.

They now sit in the chamber with a strong democratic mandate, including to vote into office the new European Commission and assess the competencies, ideas and plans of its new president and the future commissioners.

Since MEPs elected the head of the new commission in July,

she's been busy putting together a team to run the institution over the next five years.

Their names and portfolios have now been revealed,

but before they can take office, they will be invited to a three-hour hearing

to prove to the members of the European Parliament that they are the right people for the jobs.

Now, how does that work?

Well, after responding to a written questionnaire and presenting their declarations of interests to ensure there are no conflict of interests in connection with their future portfolios,

each commissioner-designate appears before the appropriate parliamentary committees

or bodies to answer both general

and specific questions.

Over three, often very stressful hours,

they will try to convey their vision

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