Brussels, 26/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - Members of the European Parliament will begin the hearings of the 27 commissioners-designate on Monday 29 September. The hearings will continue until 7 October.
The three-hour hearings, built around 45 questions, in addition to the written questions (the candidates' responses to which had to be submitted by Friday 26 September) will test both the aptitudes of the commissioners-designate and the level of their ambition for their portfolios. While the assessment is supposed to be impartial, this has not prevented some last-minute negotiations. Thus, the leader of the S&D Group, Gianni Pittella (Italy) said on Friday that, over the previous 48 hours, he had had several meetings with the president-elect of the Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and had wrung some successes and received some promises from him.
The S&D Group notably won commitments from Juncker on the provision of “new money” for the €330 billion investment plan that is to be steered by Jyrki Katainen (Finland). He said, too, that he had won a promise from Juncker that Lord Hill would not be responsible for supervising financial sector salaries and a pledge that reform of the financial sector would be continued. Pittella wants further clarification at the hearings on the areas of responsibility of the vice-presidents and how coordination with the commissioners will work - points on which other groups have asked for more information. Despite these promises and assurances, Pittella made clear that his group would be very demanding of the qualities to be shown by the commissioners heard.
Until now, four of five candidates, including three from the EPP Group, have caused passions to rise. These are Miguel Aris Canete of Spain (who has been embarrassed by his links to the oil industry having been put in charge of climate and energy), Tibor Navracsics of Hungary (an ally of Viktor Orban, nominated as European citizenship commissioner), and Phil Hogan of Ireland (who has been given agriculture). Hogan for a time was mired in an affair relating to consultancy fees, then came under attack recently from Nessa Childers (S&D, Ireland) who has alleged somewhat discriminatory actions by Hogan against travelling people. These claims have seen the Irish MEP threatened by the Irish commissioner-designate with a lawsuit for defamation. Will these three candidates make the grade at the hearings? At the moment, it is difficult to predict as intentions are not clear. “The group leaders don't seem to want to make too many waves”, a political insider told EUROPE, indicating that, if things go awry, the result is more likely to be a change of portfolio than a change of candidate.
Logic of the grand coalition. Another point has to be taken into account: “reprisals” from the EPP Group if one of its candidates is rejected. Commissioners “symbolic” of the other political groups could thus be targeted. From among the Social Democrats, Pierre Moscovici of France, nominated for the highly important economic and financial affairs portfolio (see other article) could, in this context, be seen as an ideal target, suggested an EPP MEP a few days ago in Strasbourg, recalling the logic of the grand coalition that links the two main families in the Parliament. There are question marks over the fate of an ALDE candidate, too - Alenka Bratusek of Slovenia, who has been nominated as vice-president for the energy union but who has found herself in difficulty in her own country after she declared herself to be Slovenia's commissioner when she was prime minister. “It's becoming more and more of a hot potato”, confided a source, noting that “Jyrki Katainen also nominated himself”. Through a decision by his government, this former Finnish prime minister was nominated as a commissioner, ceding his position as foreign affairs minister to Alexander Stubb. Finally, UK Conservative Lord Hill can expect a rough ride at his hearing, with some sections of the Parliament, such as the Greens/EFA, finding his nomination to financial services a bitter pill to swallow.
The hearings will begin on the afternoon of Monday 29 with that of Cecilia Malmström, who has been put in charge of trade, and will end on 7 October with that of Frans Timmermans, first vice-president responsible for better regulation and respect for the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Timmermans will be heard by the Conference of the Presidents of the Parliamentary groups.
In addition to the written questions, to which the commissioners-designate had to respond, 45 oral questions will be asked (11 from the EPP, 10 from the S&D, 5 from the ECR, 5 from ALDE, 4 from the GUE, 4 from the Greens, 4 for the EFDD and 2 from the non-attached). An initial assessment of the hearings will be made by the relevant committees then, on 9 October, by the Conference of the Presidents of the groups, who will analyse the assessments received. If all goes to plan, the Parliament hopes to vote in the Juncker Commission on 22 October. (SP with CG)