* EU Parliament begins Commission hearings Jan. 11
* Nominees face questioning on economy, skills, background
* Parliament to vote on Commission line-up on Jan. 26
By Justyna Pawlak
BRUSSELS, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Candidates for posts in the next European Commission will be closely questioned on policy and plans to pull Europe out of economic crisis when the European Parliament opens confirmation hearings next week.
Twenty-six nominees to the Commission, the European Union's executive which proposes and enforces EU laws, face three hours of examination each as parliamentary committees test their knowledge and background during the Jan. 11-19 hearings.
With 13 members of the last Commission returning, most will be hoping to win smooth approval from parliament, but several can expect a grilling about their past and suitability for jobs that are among the most powerful in Europe.
Questioning will cover issues from financial regulation to deficits and debt, immigration policy, climate change, energy security, foreign affairs and agriculture, with the financial and economic crisis looming over almost all portfolios.
The hearings follow months of delay in setting up the new body while Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, confirmed for a second five-year term by parliament in September, waited for ratification of the EU's Lisbon reform treaty.
The treaty, designed to streamline decision-making in the EU, came into force on Dec. 1, 2009 and created a permanent president for the 27-member bloc and a more powerful high representative for foreign affairs.
Among the Commission candidates who can expect intense questioning are those from Romania and Bulgaria -- the two newest EU member states -- with doubts about their abilities for the agriculture and international aid posts respectively.
"They are the danger candidates," said Hugo Brady, a political analyst at the Centre for European Reform think tank, explaining that the parliament was keen to exercise the extra authority it had gained with the passage of the Lisbon treaty.
"Parliament will gladly take a scalp," he said.
Signs that any of Barroso's nominees could be rejected by committees in the 736-member parliament would probably force the president to reshuffle his line-up, with EU sources indicating Barroso had alternatives ready in case.
Under EU rules, parliament must vote on an entire line-up, not individuals. A vote is due on Jan. 26.
In 2004, Barroso had to withdraw his proposed team after a parliamentary committee rejected Italy's Rocco Buttiglione for describing homosexuality as a sin during his hearing.
POOR RECORD
Debate on the Romanian and Bulgarian nominees could give parliament an opportunity to question the poor record in fighting corruption in both countries since they joined the EU.
The candidate for commissioner for international aid, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Rumiana Jeleva, will be questioned about efforts by Sofia's centre-right government to tame rampant organised crime and punish corrupt officials.
Romania's Dacian Ciolos, nominated for the important agriculture portfolio, is likely to be asked about irregularities in Romania's handling of EU funds that led to some cash being blocked in 2008 when he was farm minister.
A Commission official said Barroso had a "plan B up his sleeve" to rotate portfolios if a candidate was blocked.
Another nominee likely to face a tough time is Britain's Catherine Ashton, the candidate for foreign policy chief. Ashton has little experience in foreign affairs and will face a huge task in raising the EU's profile on the world stage.
Danish Climate and Energy Minister Connie Hedegaard will have to persuade deputies that she can lead EU efforts to combat climate change.
As the main organiser of last month's U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen, she was criticised by many developing countries for favouring the interests of rich nations.
"She is in for a rough time, especially from the Greens," said one EU diplomat. (Additional reporting by Darren Ennis in Brussels, Radu Marinas in Bucharest and Tsvetelia Ilieva in Sofia; Editing by Andrew Dobbie)