The EU's competition commissioner says she is one of seven candidates from the European Parliament's liberal, pro-business ALDE faction running for top posts within the European Union this year.

Margrethe Vestager, whose term ends in October, told Denmark's Politiken newspaper on Thursday that she was "part of the team." She did not name the other ALDE candidates.

A former Danish deputy prime minister and economy minister, Vestager has since 2014 been the EU's competition chief, making headlines by repeatedly slapping major tech companies — most recently Google — with big penalties and fines.

The top posts up for election in May include the presidencies of the European Commission, European Council, European Parliament and the European Central Bank, as well as the post of EU foreign affairs chief.