Nobody corners Warsaw.

Donald Tusk’s former right-hand man Piotr Serafin will take the microphone today in a bid to convince EU political parties that he is the man to lead negotiations over its €1.2 trillion central budget.

When Tusk, who is now Prime Minister of Poland, was president of the European Council, officials who worked with Serafin described He considers him a powerful agent par excellence and a tireless cruncher of numbers. Having worked in Brussels for more than a decade, he knows how the EU works and that already gives him a big advantage.

If approved, Serafin will be central to budget negotiations for the period 2028-2034 and will be tasked with proposing how the EU intends to spend its money in the coming years. But the task will be particularly difficult in this budget cycle, as the European Commission wants to impose conditions on cash donations, especially since Poland is one of the largest recipients.

We’ll bring you all the action live starting at 2:30 pm CET on November 7. You can see the session live here.

Background reading:

P.S. If you want to follow more details of the hearings, our reporters will provide you with detailed updates on the 26 interviews with commissioners here.