The Dutch cabinet is hoping that the Netherlands will be allocated a heavyweight economic position in the new-look European Commission, prime minister Dick Schoof confirmed in a radio interview at the weekend.

Schoof was in Brussels last week to meet officials, including president Ursula von der Leyen and has said the Netherlands is not looking for one of the vice presidential roles.

“That would not be realistic given Frans Timmermans was one in the previous administration,” he told current affairs programme Met Het Oog op Morgen. “It is not the Netherlands’ turn,” he said.

Schoof said he had also told officials that the Netherlands is “too important to settle for a minor role”. Among the jobs that would fit are industrial politics, the internal market, and competition, he said. “Those are important positions for the Netherlands, given our economy.”

Many people had expressed an interest in the role of Dutch European Commissioner, Schoof said, without naming any names. Placing the right person in the right job will happen in “the coming weeks”, he said.

Wopke Hoekstra, from the Christian Democrats, took over a downgraded climate role in the commission when Timmermans returned to domestic politics as leader of the GroenLinks-PvdA alliance.

Later this week the European parliament will vote on whether or not to retain Von der Leyen as commission president.