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Candidate for the European Commission: Who needs to shiver from the Leyen

2019-09-30T11:05:20.941Z


Who comes through, who does not? Twenty-six designated EU Commissioners meet at the European Parliament. The question is not whether Ursula von der Leyen will have to replace which - but how many.



Ursula von der Leyen, the future head of the EU Commission, is likely to look a little jealous of other capitals these days. While most heads of government need to agree their ministers with the coalition partners at best, the EU is becoming more democratic: all 26 EU commissioners and commissioners designated have to hold hearings in the European Parliament. Only when the deputies find all candidates suitable and accept the entire commission can Leyen start work as planned on 1 November.

For the CDU politician much is at stake, because a formality are the hearings by no means. Usually, several candidates fall by the wayside, governments must then name alternatives. And this time in Brussels, practically nobody expects that Leyen gets their complete team through. The question is therefore not whether, but how many candidates it will have to replace.

The hearings follow a strict plan:

  • First of all, every applicant is allowed to speak for a quarter of an hour.
  • Then follow the questions. Already who is allowed to put them, is exactly defined according to the party proportionality and the vanities between the committees involved.
  • The sessions, which are broadcast live on the Internet, take three hours. If less than two-thirds of committee chairmen and coordinators are convinced by a candidate, they may ask further questions in writing or continue the hearing. A change of department is also conceivable.

On Monday afternoon at 14.30 clock it starts. The first Commission candidate is an experienced politician: Maros Sefcovic from Slovakia. The man has been a member of the EU Commission since 2009, most recently as Vice President for Energy Affairs, and is to look after inter-institutional relations in the future.

Janusz Wojciechowski: Kaczynski's man in Brussels

Julien Warnand / EPA / DPA

Janusz Wojciechowski

But it will be really exciting on Tuesday at 2.30 pm when Janusz Wojciechowski has his first problematic case. The EU anti-fraud authority Olaf has investigated the Pole, whom Leyen wants to turn into an agricultural commissioner, for fraud during his time as MEP. Only on Friday evening informed Olaf that no criminal steps are necessary: ​​One found irregularities in Wojciechowskis travel settlements, but the over-billed 11,243 euro the 64-year-old already paid back.

All right? Not at all. The timing of the Olaf communication is at least thought to be remarkable in Parliament. And politically, some MPs may not think the case is over. In addition, there is something else that could be a problem for Wojciechowski: his affiliation with Poland's national conservative PiS party. For the first time since her election victory in 2015, she has been able to nominate a commissioner - and makes no secret of her expectation that Wojciechowski in Brussels will primarily represent Polish interests.

At present, Poland does not have much to report in Brussels. When the PiS seized power in Warsaw in 2015, it promptly swamped the media and the judiciary. Poland was thus the first country ever to enter EU criminal proceedings for endangering the rule of law. With his private feud against EU Council President Donald Tusk led PiS boss Jaroslaw Kaczynski Poland even in the isolation. Wojciechowski should now restore Poland's influence in Brussels. Speaking to the Rzeczpospolita newspaper, European Minister Konrad Szymaski recently made it clear to the PiS that it would "create a system of permanent consultations between the Polish Commissioner and the Prime Minister." Another prominent PiS politician said that Poland needed a commissioner "who defended Poland's interests in all areas".

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Future EU Commissioners: From the Leyens Wunschteam

Wojciechowski's designated department, agriculture, is excellently suited for this purpose. Agricultural subsidies are by far the largest item in the EU budget, Poland is the biggest beneficiary of EU funds - and the government in Warsaw demands that aid to Poland's farmers be increased again. Nevertheless, Wojciechowski has chances to survive the hearing in the European Parliament. Because there are also concerns that Poland will fail. Wojciechowski is still a relatively moderate PiS representative, they say. If prevented, the PiS leadership could send a real hardliner to Brussels.

Sylvie Goulard: Macron's problem candidate

Britta Pedersen / DPA

Sylvie Goulard

There is no doubt about Sylvie Goulard's ability to become a good Internal Market Commissioner. The candidate of French President Emmanuel Macron has spent her entire life working for Europe. For a long time she sat for the Liberals in the European Parliament, then she became Minister of Defense (and therefore knows Ursula von der Leyen well). Before she was nominated for the Brussels job, she was Vice-President of the Banque de France. Among other things, it is now intended to develop Europe's new industrial strategy, to advance the digital single market and to ensure better cooperation in defense policy.

Goulard would be something like the perfect Commissioner. If only the thing with the money were not there. First, Goulard had to repay 45,000 euros to the European Parliament. The background: she could not prove that one of her constituents actually worked for her as a Member of the European Parliament. The matter, as Parliament had said more than a year ago, has been resolved, but the EU fraud investigation is investigating Olaf.

On top of that, besides being a member of parliament for so many European initiatives and think tanks, Goulard is easy to lose track of. While most of it was volunteer, a commitment stands out. From October 2013 to the end of 2015, Goulard collected over 10,000 euros a month from the think tank of the German-American billionaire Nicolas Berggruen. The matter was legal and reported to Parliament, but there should be critical inquiries at the hearing on Wednesday at 2.30pm.

Margaritis Schinas: The protector of Europe's way of life

Yves Herman / REUTERS

Margaritis Schinas

He is still the chief spokesman of Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, soon he himself will be Vice-President of the Commission: The rise of Margaritis Schinas is as rapid as it is surprising. No less surprising was the tailoring of his portfolio: The Greek should be responsible for the "protection of our European way of life" and also for migration. Since then, many in the European Parliament are also wondering what the European way of life really is and whether Leyen sees it threatened by migration.

Such questions will be heard by Schinas in his hearing (Thursday 18.30 clock) or something similar. It will not be a walk, because the matter is now politically charged. There are vehement demands from the left-wing spectrum for a renaming of Schinas's job, while the Christian-Democratic EPP desperately wants to defend the title. The 57-year-old Schinas, who was himself a MEP for the Christian Democrat Nea Dimokratia from 2007 to 2009, has to avoid many pitfalls in this situation, even if he is otherwise regarded as an unproblematic candidate.

Frans Timmermans, Margrethe Vestager: Delicate questions to the stars

Vincent Kessler / REUTERS; Patrick Seeger / EPA / DPA

Frans Timmermans, Margrethe Vestager

The two stars of the commission are not endangered. But the hearings for the two executive vice presidents (the third is the Latvian Valdis Dombrovskis) are not easy either. That's because both are responsible for issues that will shape the Leyens Commission in the coming years.

The Danish Vestager (hearing: 8 October 14:30) should continue to ensure that the EU acts on equal terms with the US - important for von der Leyen, which claims to lead a "geopolitical commission". Vestager should take care of digitization and remain a competition commissioner. This office might provide for the MEPs for demand. Some, such as the CSU man Markus Ferber, find that Vestager may have to resolve a conflict of interest. If she wants to move Europe forward in digitization, she may need to work closely with the companies she has to control as a rigorous competitive guardian, such as the US Internet giants.

The Dutchman Timmermans (hearing: 8 October 18:30) takes care of the climate. Von der Leyen has promised that she intends to present Europe's first climate law in the first 100 days of her term of office, in which, among other things, the goal of climate neutrality by 2050 should be laid down by law. Timmermans showed in the election campaign that he masters these topics well. But not least the debate about the climate package in Germany shows that you can hardly make it right on the subject.

Rovana Plumb, László Trócsányi: The wobbly candidates

Matteo Gribaudi / ZUMA Press / imago images

Rovana Plumb, László Trócsányi

Who are the delegates out? The Romanian Rovana Plumb (Transport) and the Hungarian László Trócsányi (Enlargement) seemed to have met last week when the European Parliament's Judiciary Committee dropped their thumbs. Plumb could not dispel inconsistencies regarding a loan, Trócsányi not to the satisfaction of the parliamentarians declare that he as a Hungarian Minister of Justice had nothing to do with a law firm that he founded and in which he was involved for a long time. On Monday afternoon, the committee reiterated its rejection: Plumb and Tócsányi were "unsuitable" for their posts in the Commission. Now the Leyen has to decide how to proceed.

Even if Plumb and Trócsányi were to be admitted to the hearings, it would not be easier there for them. Plumb is accused of abuse of office from her time as a minister in Romania (hearing scheduled Wednesday 9 clock). And the Orbán confidant Trócsányi is considered the architect of the controversial Hungarian judicial reforms. It is difficult to imagine that he, as an enlargement commissioner, should now point the way to the EU legal community for the candidate countries, for example from the Western Balkans (hearing scheduled for Tuesday, 6.30 pm). The allegations of corruption against Belgium's Foreign Minister Didier Reynders (hearing Wednesday 9 clock), the Justice Commission should be, should, on the other hand, be groundless.

Paolo Gentiloni: An Italian Spark Commissioner?

Alberto Grosescu / Inquam Photos / REUTERS

Paolo Gentiloni

The relief in Brussels was gigantic when the Italians succeeded in forming a new government after the break-up of the coalition of right-wing extremist Lega and populist 5-star movement without new elections. Now the Social Democrats are ruling with the 5-star people - and one consequence is that Paolo Gentiloni should become Economic Commissioner.

Although this is the Brussels horror idea off the table that a Lega politician takes over a central department. But the fact that an Italian Social Democrat should monitor compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact, among others, holds many in opposition, especially in northern and western Europe.

For Gentiloni himself, his job could still be uncomfortable - because the government in Rome wants to increase the deficit, and the 64-year-old scion of an old noble family could come into the situation of having to prohibit exactly that. In Italy, the understanding of this would probably be manageable, and here too there is the notion that the Italian EU Commissioner has Italian interests to represent. On the other hand, if Gentiloni were too lax with deficit sinners, he would be certain of the wrath of other EU countries, especially Germany.

After all, the former Italian Prime Minister currently has the backing of the Leyens to be generous in interpreting the debt rules. He should use "the full flexibility" of the permitted, wrote the Commission President-designate already in her mission letter to Gentiloni. At the hearing (Thursday 9 am), Gentiloni can count on resistance, especially from the ranks of conservative Northern and Western Europeans.

More at SPIEGEL +

Virginia Mayo / apNew EU CommissionersFrom Leyens problem cases

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2019-09-30

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