Socialist Teresa Ribera is Spain's top pick to get a key job at the European Commission.

Ribera, however, has set her sights on a different portfolio than that of her predecessor, Josep Borrell, who has headed the bloc's foreign policy office — a portfolio that is even more important and controversial in EU politics.

Reportedly, Ribera is keen on leading the 27-member bloc into a greener future as EU vice president in charge of the so-called European Green Deal — a set of policy initiatives initiated by the European Commission with the aim of making the EU climate neutral by 2050.

As Spain's minister for ecological transition since 2018, Ribera is widely respected in the international environment-activist community. In a recent post on social media platform X, she said she was honored to head Spain's list of candidates for the EU Commission and wanted a more "just and green" Europe.

Celia Nyssens-James, policy manager for agriculture and food systems at the European Environmental Bureau, thinks Ribera "deserves" to be charged with implementing the EU Green Deal. "What’s key for us is to have someone in the commission who is committed to the Green Deal, like Frans Timmermans," she told DW, referring to Dutch politician who was seen as instrumental in driving the EU's pro-climate agenda.

"But we have one big question and that is whether she will be tough enough on the farming industry. Spain has a big........

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