Thumbs up or thumbs down? The hearings of Ursula von der Leyen’s 26 commissioners-designate are now well underway in the respective committees of the European Parliament.
The first 20 commissioners-to-be were put through their paces this week, with the final six hearings scheduled for next Tuesday (12 November). Then MEPs are expected to vote on the full college of commissioners during the Strasbourg plenary at the end of the month.
Hear, hear!
But what is the rationale behind this system of hearings and votes for the key positions in the EU executive? AMS shares the explanation provided by German EPP member Sven Simon, chair of the Parliament’s constitutional affairs committee.
Sven Simon, Member of the European Parliament, EPP – Germany (in English):
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“This procedure leads to a particularly high level of democratic legitimacy of commissioners, compared to other executives worldwide. […] Our goal is to ensure that those selected to serve Europe uphold the highest standards.”
So, the objective is to assess whether the commissioners-designate are qualified both to represent the college in general and to carry out the specific duties assigned to them. It is also an opportunity for MEPs to underline their positions in areas where they will subsequently be confined to an observer role.
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The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development quizzed Christophe Hansen, the Luxembourgish candidate for the agriculture and food portfolio, on Monday.
Hansen described the three-hour-long interview as a “tough exercise”.
Christophe Hansen, Commissioner-Designate for Agriculture (in Luxembourgish):
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“Yes, that was heavy, I have to say. There were more than 50 questions. Some were repeated several times by different colleagues. It’s tough. You have only two minutes to answer a minute-long question… sometimes broken down into five sub-questions! Clearly, that doesn’t make it easy to respond to everything. But I did my best and the initial feedback I received from colleagues was positive. Now, of course, the coordinators have to meet and we will see what they decide – whether they place their trust in me or not.”
As Luxembourg’s national broadcaster 100,7 reports, Hansen easily secured a majority among committee members, receiving backing from the EPP, the Socialists, Renew Europe, the Greens and the ECR group.
Tuesday evening saw a couple of trickier hearings, though. Swede Jessika Roswell, who is up for the post of environment commissioner, was felt by MEPs to be underprepared. And Magnus Brunner, the Austrian candidate for the internal affairs and migration portfolio, who has been criticised by some for his tough stance on migration, was ultimately confirmed by a two-thirds majority… but only after being subjected to a prolonged cross-examination.
Austrian socialist Andreas Schieder spoke to Agora about Brunner’s performance.
Andreas Schieder, Member of the European Parliament – S&D, Austria (in German):
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“In a hearing lasting almost four hours, the responsible committee and MEPs from all political groups asked the Austrian commissioner-designate Magnus Brunner a multitude of detailed questions. He performed well on many issues, but on some questions gave only superficial answers. He often took refuge in his mother tongue, German. But all in all, the decision was taken later in the evening to wave Magnus Brunner through.”
Romanian S&D member Roxana Mînzatu, meanwhile, is preparing for her hearing in front of the Parliament’s employment and culture committees next Tuesday.
The executive vice-president-designate for people, skills and preparedness believes that her successful appointment to this high-level post will be an important step not only for her, but for Eastern Europe as a whole. Radio România reports.
Roxana Mînzatu, Commissioner-Designate for People, Skills and Preparedness (in Romanian):
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“For the first time, Romania is part of the leadership of the European Commission. I represent not only Romania but, in a way, all the countries that joined after 2004, after 2007, Eastern Europe… and I think it is important for us to recognise that we have this role at the Commission. It is a very important portfolio too, in which I will directly coordinate funds of over 240 billion euros.”
And while Valdis Dombrovskis, Latvia’s commissioner-designate for the economy and productivity, was being grilled by parliamentarians on Thursday afternoon, our colleagues at Latvijas Radio were speaking to Bruegel research fellow Niclas Poitiers about the key challenges he will face once in post. (He is, when all’s said and done, a shoo-in…)
Poitiers points to the none-too-small matter of security – particularly given the changing transatlantic relationship.
Niclas Poitiers, Bruegel Research Fellow (in English):
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“I think Europe is in a very difficult situation, where its economy is not in great shape, it has a very difficult security problem to solve, and its security provider is retreating from the world. That needs to be funded […] This means we have to spend money on this, and it means we have to also build capabilities, at the same time as we rebuild our economy. I think this is the big task for the European Commission: find funding for Ukraine, find funding for its own economy, find ways to basically create new dynamism in the European economy. And that will be a big part of the portfolio for Valdis Dombrovskis.”
And how might he go about this?
Niclas Poitiers, Bruegel Research Fellow (in English):
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“There are answers on the table. I think the Draghi report very clearly lined them out. We made our own here at Bruegel. We wrote our own memos with our recommendations. There’s a lot of ideas about what to do – and these ideas, many of them have been on the table for a while. They have not been politically viable because there was always opposition from individual member states that saw particular interests in their countries being harmed by this. And I think we cannot afford this anymore.”
Indeed, in his own parliamentary hearing on Wednesday, Andrius Kubilius, Lithuania’s commissioner-designate for defence and space, highlighted what he sees as significant underinvestment in European defence and stressed that the bloc should be learning to stand on its own two feet.
Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner-Designate for Defence and Space (in English):
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“We shall continue to cooperate with the United States […] That is [in] our crucial interest. But I think that sometimes we’re spending too much time trying to discuss American politics, but we should spend much more time […] on our own affairs: how we can strengthen our defence capabilities, how we can be ready for whatever military contingencies may come. That is what I see as the priority, at least in my own [area of responsibility].”
All of which brings us on to the elephant in the room… A subject that it would be remiss of us not to mention this week. Yes, the US election, of course.
Trump trumps Harris
The ramifications of the US electorate’s choices on Tuesday will be felt not only across the States, but across the world, in the years to come. So, is the much-touted ‘special relationship’ between Europe and the US in jeopardy?
Dr Robert Phillips, professor of political science at the American University in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, believes that a lot can be read into Trump’s language. He is talking to our colleagues at BNR.
Robert Phillips, Professor of Political Science (in English):
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“He talks about the ‘little European countries’, and he talks about, ‘Isn’t it lovely’? In the way he’s phrasing it in English, there’s a sense of superiority there or a sense of condescension, or disdain. It’s: ‘Oh, isn’t that little cute Europe?’. The phrasing in English is interesting. […] So his wording is partly for his electorate, but it also tells us a little bit about his views and this sense of Europe has simply allowed itself to become vulnerable […] and that this situation can be used. This is going to present a serious challenge for European policymakers. Whether they can create some sort of special deal? That will take very skilful negotiators.”
Concerned about Trump’s uneasy relationship with NATO, many commentators are urging the president-elect not to relinquish the US’s longstanding role as guarantor of global security. Polish senator Grzegorz Schetyna, from the Civic Coalition, for one. Schetyna’s comments are shared by Polskie Radio.
Grzegorz Schetyna, Polish Senator (in Polish):
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“The world is very different from when he first became president. He is facing new challenges. So I look forward to the kind of presidency that learns the lessons of these first four years, the four years of his last term, and provides assurances of fulfilling [America’s] role as a superpower and guarantor of global security.”
One very specific concern for the European region relates to Ukraine, given Donald Trump’s claims that, as president, he would end the war with Russia in just 24 hours.
Political philosopher Joséphine Staron is director of international relations at the French governance think tank Synopia. She tells France’s euradio that this is, unsurprisingly, highly unlikely to come to pass.
Joséphine Staron, Political Philosopher (in French):
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“Today, Russia is advancing in Ukraine. It is in a position of strength and has no interest in signing an agreement now. Especially as European and American financial and military aid is likely to dwindle. Time is the Russian president’s best weapon. So it’s a safe bet that little or nothing will change on the Ukrainian issue in the first few months of Donald Trump’s presidency.”
In 2016, when Trump was first elected, some Europeans hoped this would lead the bloc to finally distance itself from the US and build real strategic autonomy. But, says Staron, little has changed over the last eight years: the European arms industry is still at half-mast, Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act has hit European industry hard, and the replacement of Thierry Breton as Europe’s digital commissioner could mark a backwards step in the regulation of digital giants.
Yet like Niclas Poitiers, who we heard from earlier, Joséphine Staron points us back to the Draghi report. The answers are all there, she says.
Joséphine Staron, Political Philosopher (in French):
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“The election of Donald Trump is neither good nor bad news for Europeans. The question is whether we are finally ready to give ourselves the means to assert ourselves politically, economically and commercially in the face of protectionist powers such as the US and China. The proposals in Mario Draghi’s report could lead us towards this autonomy. But they are far from achieving consensus among member states… and the clock is ticking, as Donald Trump’s re-election confirms.”
And there is an even-more-recent report that may offer complementary insight: the so-called Niinistö report, drawn up by former Finnish president Sauli Niinistö at the request of the Commission president.
This 160-page report, published at the end of October, assesses the complex challenges currently faced by the EU and its member states and presents around 80 recommendations on how to enhance the EU’s civilian and military preparedness for future crises.
Ave Schank-Lukas, acting head of the European Commission Representation in Tallinn, tells Kuku Raadio more.
Ave Schank-Lukas, Head of the European Commission Representation in Tallinn (in Estonian):
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“The report says that the EU is much better prepared for crises than it was five years ago. Legislation and tools in various policy areas have been significantly improved. But our security environment is changing at an even faster rate. It is precisely strategic preparedness that needs to be strengthened, given that different crises may be interlinked and crises may not happen in the order we might expect. Crisis preparedness should be a basic, cross-cutting principle. We should prepare for the worst. Because if we are well prepared for a range of crises, this will proactively reduce their impact – and may even prevent some of them.”
- Author: Joanna Neville, Euranet Plus News Agency
