BRUSSELS (AP) — Candidates are facing off for some of the most important jobs in the European Union parliamentary hearings Monday, as lawmakers begin vetting potential commissioners to oversee EU-wide policies from agriculture to trade for the next five years.

Four of the 26 new members of the EU’s increasingly powerful executive branch, the European Commission, will each be given a three-hour discussion by senior MPs most closely associated with their policy portfolios. The others will be heard until November 12.

The commission is the only EU body with the power to draft laws that, once adopted by the European Parliament and the 27 member countries. They cover everything from water quality to data protection to competition or migration policy.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, now in her second term at the helm of an institution with more than 33,000 staff, brought her new-look director together in September, trying to balance sensitive political, geographical and gender concerns.

Candidates, who are nominated by their national governments, must demonstrate their general competence to manage their portfolio, commitment to the European project, independence and good communication skills.

The tone of the hearings could be set on Monday. A first candidate to make his case will be Glenn Micallef — the incoming Commissioner for Youth, Culture and Sport — who hails from Malta, the EU’s smallest country.

He was marked as a political lightweight compared to the former ministers and prime ministers nominated in Von der Leyen’s team. Micallef is supported by the centre-left Socialists and Democrats, the second largest political family in Parliament.

A chain reaction could be triggered if he is rejected by the other political groups and the socialists will seek revenge.

After each hearing, senior MPs make an assessment behind closed doors. Candidates must obtain a two-thirds majority. If they don’t, MPs can ask additional questions in writing or request another 90 minutes of grilling.

The results of the vote are expected to remain secret until the full hearing process is completed next week. But given the high political stakes for each party group, MPs or parliament officials are almost certain to leak the news.