Sylvie Goulard knows how to score in Brussels. She begins her introductory words in French, later she changes to English, then to German, later she even answers a question in Italian. Linguistically, according to Goulard's hearing on Wednesday afternoon in the European Parliament, there is no doubt about the EU's fitness for the woman.
Technically, Goulard, 54, is good in the fabric. She was a long MEP, French Defense Minister for short, and then Vice-President of the Banque de France. Her entire CV reads like a gallop for the job she is now aiming for: Goulard should become Internal Market Commissioner.
Unfortunately, this Wednesday afternoon in the European Parliament's session room, it's not about their language skills, nor about the subject matter. "There is a cloud of doubt about Sylvie Goulard," said CDU MEP Christian Ehler after the hearing flowery. One would have liked to hear more about what Goulard intended to do as an Internal Market Commissioner, Ehler says and frowns. But unfortunately there are the whole affairs ...
There is a cloud of doubt hanging over the hearing of #Goulard. Our #EPPGroup ITRE Coordinator Christian Ehler explains why⤵️ # EPhearings2019 pic.twitter.com/uC2heQBctJ
- EPP Group (@EPPGroup) October 2, 2019On Wednesday evening, there was no green light for the commissioner in spe. Goulard, according to the competent representatives, should answer further written questions about their future job. It is even conceivable that she will be quoted again before the committee. Officially, the so-called coordinators should bring the additional questions at a meeting on Thursday on the way.
Sure, that's not the end for Emmanuel Macron's candidate. A humiliation but already. After all, Goulard is considered one of the upcoming stars in Ursula von der Leyen's commission team.
That's not fair, of course. Goulard's hearing is not just about Goulard. Many MEPs, notably the CDU and CSU, want to kick France's President Macron to torment his opponent for another round. Because: Macron has her top candidate Manfred Weber of the CSU in the race for the post of Commission chief rudely unggleded out of the race. But now his candidate gets some revenge fouls.
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Goulard is at the hearing from the start on a lost post. "I want to make sure that our economy can develop," she says in her opening statement that afternoon. And then, at the end of her introduction, she addresses one of the tricky points of her candidacy. She has always been committed to Europe, says Goulard. Her commitment to the think-tank of the German-American billionaire Nicolas Berggruen, which earned her over € 10,000 a month, places her in this row. It had been "embedded" in all these activities. Not more than 350,000 euros as a reward for the cause of Europe, not everyone convinced. Nevertheless, there is soft applause after their statement.
But Goulard comes with a second vulnerability in the hearing - it is about a possible apparent employment of an assistant during her time as a MEP. Already the first question of the deputies aims at it. Because she could not prove that one of her constituency employees had actually worked for her as a MEP, she had to repay 45,000 euros to the European Parliament and resigned as French Defense Minister.
"Why do you think you can no longer be a Defense Minister, but Commissioner already?", Jens Geier, head of the German Social Democrats in the European Parliament, wants to know. Goulard evades. Under the circumstances, she no longer wanted to be a member of the French Government, but in the European Parliament it is no good practice to resign because of such things. Geier asks: Would she resign as Commissioner if she were to be charged in France? "I do not answer hypothetical questions," Goulard says. "If you're convicted, you're taking consequences." Until then, however, the presumption of innocence applies. And so far she has not even been charged in France. "I was heard as a witness."
Towards the hearing of Ms. Goulard, the designated EU Commissioner for Internal Market, Industrial Policy, Defense and much more ... # SPDEuropa webstreamed pic.twitter.com/MGGDE8OBkj
- Jens Geier (@EuropaJens) October 2, 2019Of course that is not wrong, but you really do not help on Wednesday afternoon either. Green MEP Daniel Freund announces in the evening in an interview with Der Spiegel in the course of the Goulard debate that additional income from parliamentarians should be cut in future in 15 percent of diets. Should he prevail, it would be pretty empty in the parliament.
A hint of US politics in Brussels
There is hunting fever in Brussels. Already during their hearing there were first tweets of individual MEPs who questioned whether you could really just wave Goulard through. Goulard's team held against it - with tweets to the industrial and digital policy of Goulards Account - while the boss defended herself in the committee. A touch of US politics blows through the otherwise rather languid European Parliament.
Excellence is the best protection. When Europeans join forces, success follows. #strategy #EU #industry #challenge #Europe
- Sylvie Goulard (@Goulard Sylvie) October 2, 2019Goulard also found himself in difficult waters because of the fact that the Legal Committee had already on Monday rejected the Commission candidates from Hungary and Romania, ie politicians of the European People's Party and Social Democrats. But the liberal Renew faction, which supports Goulard, has yet to make a sacrifice.
What hearings are still on the agenda in Brussels?
In that sense, it was no good news for Goulard that another Liberal had beaten himself respectably this morning. The future Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders, currently Foreign Minister in Belgium, was waved through quite easily. Sure, Reynders also has to justify himself because of one or the other affairs, but at his hearing, the contents were in the foreground. Reynders announced a sort of scoreboard to measure every year the state of the rule of law of all EU members. The review should affect all EU countries, Reynders said, "but it will be more in-depth with those Member States where problems have already been identified." A clear statement to Poland and Hungary, who have been in trouble with Brussels for a while longer due to the dismantling of their constitutional state.
For three hours, MEPs questioned each of the commissioner candidates. On Thursday, former Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and EU Commission ex-spokesman Margaritis Schinas will be asking parliamentarians questions. The Italian should become Economic Commissioner and be responsible for the euro, a horror for some fiscal hardliners in the Conservatives. Schinas, on the other hand, has to put up with questions about the portfolio he should be responsible for - the "protection of the European way of life". As migration is also to count, some MEPs believe that the new Commission wants to ingratiate itself with Europe's rights. "Europe's way of life = foreclosure", so their equation, so their charge.
Tomorrow Thursday, hearings will be held by Paolo Gentiloni, Kadri Simson, Virginijus Sinkevičius, Johannes Hahn, Margaritis Schinas and Dubravka Šuica. # EPhearings2019
All info here https://t.co/jZSryr32vI pic.twitter.com/Bunm9x4Jab
Although most questions are not surprising at the hearings, this is a tough test. It quickly becomes clear who has his future area of responsibility under control and who does not. Pole Janusz Wojciekowski, for example, who is scheduled to serve as Commissioner for Agriculture, received almost no question from parliamentarians on Tuesday. He had a detention and had to answer additional questions by next Tuesday.
That Goulard is now in the same league as the outsider from Poland to play shows the drama of their situation.
