By David Churchill, Brussels Correspondent for the Daily Mail
Ursula von der Leyen
Ursula von der Leyen is the daughter of Brussels-born Eurocrat Ernst Albrecht, a senior German politician who worked in the EU Commission in the 1950s.
It meant she spent her early years in the Belgian capital and partly explains her fanatic eurofederalism.
The German defence secretary, who takes over from Jean-Claude Juncker as EU Commission president, has called for a ‘United States of Europe’ with its own army. The mother-of-seven has a medical degree and studied at the London School of Economics as well as Stanford in the US.
The qualified gynaecologist only entered politics in her 40s, but regularly emerges in opinion polls as one of Germany’s most popular politicians.
She has been Angela Merkel’s defence secretary since 2013, but became mired in controversy over the awarding of contracts – for which she was eventually exonerated – and has faced criticism about gaps in military readiness.
She was once seen as a potential replacement to German Chancellor Mrs Merkel, but the contracts controversy saw her fade from contention.
The 60-year-old speaks fluent English and French – a crucial qualification for her new role.
Pictured: Ursula von der Leyen is on track to be the first ever female President of the European Commission
Christine Lagarde
Christine Lagarde, the new president of European Central Bank, was accused of stoking ‘Project Fear’ in 2016 when she said Brexit would be ‘pretty bad, to very, very bad’ for the UK.
The remarks, made at a joint press conference with then-Chancellor George Osborne, made her a controversial figure as Britain took the historic decision to leave the EU.
The former French minister, 63, has run the International Monetary Fund since 2011.
She was the first woman to head the Washington-based lender, which rescues countries at risk of economic collapse.
Paris-born Miss Lagarde, who is twice divorced, was also convicted of criminal negligence over a French corruption scandal in 2016 – but was spared punishment and allowed to keep her job.
Miss Lagarde receives a £382,000 tax-free salary at the IMF and an annual allowance of £67,000 to pay for a standard of living appropriate to her position – with no need to justify what this is spent on.
The mother-of-two and her partner, French businessman Xavier Giocanti, are also reimbursed for all travel expenses.
Pictured: Christine Lagarde has been nominated as the next leader of the European Central Bank
Charles Michel
Former Belgian prime minister Charles Michel – the son of a previous European commissioner – has emerged as one of the great defenders of ‘ever closer union’ across the EU.
The arch-eurofederalist will replace Donald Tusk as EU Council president.
He joined a French-speaking liberal party in Belgium aged 16, became an MP at 23 and was the country’s youngest ever minister by 24.
Mr Michel, pictured, also became Belgium’s youngest ever prime minister in 2014, aged 38, despite his party coming third in a general election.
But coalitions are not uncommon in Belgium, and he was later widely praised for his response to the Brussels terror attacks in 2016.
He resigned at the end of last year after a vote of no confidence, effectively lost the resulting general election and has since been Belgium’s interim prime minister.
Like French president Emmanuel Macron, he has played hardball on Brexit and is opposed to lengthy extensions.
The 43-year-old has repeatedly criticised Brexit, once saying: ‘Perhaps during the referendum the impression was given that once the Brexit button was pushed everything would take care of itself easily. Well, that is not true.’
Pictured: Liberal Belgian PM Charles Michel will become the next President of the European Council