France postpones announcement on its EU commissioner candidate

PARIS (Reuters) - The French government has postponed an announcement, originally scheduled for Tuesday, naming its candidate to serve in the next European Commission, the president's office said.

President Emmanuel Macron had originally said he would disclose the name of France's candidate on Tuesday. Officials from his office did not say when the announcement would be made.

Each of the European Union's member states was scheduled to submit by Monday, Aug. 26, its candidate for commissioner to the president-elect of the next EU executive, Ursula von der Leyen.

Von der Leyen is due to name a new college of commissioners by Nov. 1. Each European Union country is vying for influential jobs.

A French official said on July 17 that France was eyeing a “strong economic portfolio” in the new Commission, such as trade or overseeing climate and energy policy.

The trade portfolio would prove a particularly tough job, coming at a time of heightened tension between the bloc and U.S. President Donald Trump, whose “America First” policy is challenging the EU's free-trade push.