Designated members of the EU’s new top executive team are to be grilled by lawmakers next month in a showdown every five years between parliament and the powerful European Commission that has Brussels abuzz with speculation.
Would-be commissioners will be quizzed between November 4 and 12 on anything from their personal convictions to their knowledge of dense EU files, during public confirmation hearings that often result in a few casualties.
The hearings are a rare occasion for the European Parliament to flex its muscles against the mighty commission, whose predominance in EU affairs tends to annoy lawmakers.
Parliament, which has fewer powers than a typical national legislature, can vote down nominees, forcing his or her country to choose someone else.
– Arrogance unwelcome –
Each of the EU’s 27 nations nominated one person to serve on the commission — one of the world’s most formidable regulators, enforcing European law on key issues such as trade, competition and tech.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who won a second-term earlier this year, then allocated portfolios based on personal experience as well as political and national clout.
The German politician unveiled her new team in mid-September, in the wake of EU elections in June.
Now parliament is going to have its say.
“The commissioner must show that he is already at ease, without appearing arrogant,” a parliamentary source said as a piece of advice for commission hopefuls.
It was arrogance that partially cost France’s Sylvie Goulard her post in 2019, she said. “She arrived with an attitude that said: ‘I’m France, I’m in charge’.”
In what was a major blow for French President Emmanuel Macron, Goulard was one of three would-be commissionaires rejected by parliament as the current team was preparing to start its work five years ago.
The other two, representatives for Hungary and Romania, were axed just ahead of confirmation hearings by the parliament’s legal affairs committee due to conflicts of interest.
The committee is to start vetting the new batch of candidates in the next few days.
– ‘Scary’ parliament –
Brussels is rife with rumours as to who might face the chop.
Chief among those most at risk is Hungary’s Oliver Varhelyi, nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s man in Brussels these past five years.
Varhelyi, who received a diminished portfolio covering health and animal welfare, was caught on hot mic calling lawmakers “idiots” last year — something that did not win him many friends in parliament.
As a representative of Italy’s hard-right government, Raffaele Fitto might be in for a rough hearing, although initial hostility from the left and centre to his nomination to a top post as commission executive vice president seems to have tempered.
Doubts have also been raised about the past and preparedness of the Bulgarian and Maltese candidates while Spain’s Teresa Ribera, a socialist given what is arguably the commission’s most influential role as competition chief, might face scrutiny over her anti-nuclear views.
“If parliament is scary, so much the better. It gains in power in its relationship with the commission,” said one of its vice-presidents, France’s Younous Omarjee, of The Left group.
Yet, some parliamentarians are wary that going too heavy on some commissioners hailing from a rival party, might set off a chain reaction.
The various political groups “keep an eye on each other, with a logic of ‘you touch mine, I’ll touch yours’,” said a parliamentary source.
To get ready, commissioners can review their “briefing book” — a hefty document detailing past decisions and future goals concerning their mandate, which a commission official described as “a gold mine” of information.
Given the political machinations around the hearings, one can never be too prepared.
“It’s obviously stressful because you’re a pawn in a game you don’t completely control,” said a European civil servant.
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