European Commissioner for the Digital Economy Günther Oettinger, who has come in for strong criticism over his racist and homophobic comments and over some uncalled-for criticism of Wallonia, can expect to be hauled over the coals by MEPs at his hearing as new commissioner for the budget, following the announcement that Kristalina Georgieva is to step down with effect from 1 January 2017 to join the World Bank (see EUROPE 11657).
When EUROPE ran into Oettinger outside the buildings of the European Commission in Brussels on Wednesday 2 November, he said that everything that needed to be said on the subject had been said and that there was no need for excuses, as it was not a scandal.
However, Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of the ALDE Group at the European Parliament, feels that the commissioner's comments are highly controversial. In a press release, Verhofstadt said: "we will scrutinise Commissioner Oettinger's behaviour during his parliamentary hearing in the budgets committee. Not only will we examine if he is apt for taking up the role as vice-president of the Commission, we will also question him thoroughly on his recent remarks".
Sophie in't Veld (ALDE, Netherlands) stated that the purpose of the prior hearings is to assess the technical expertise of the candidates and to ascertain whether they uphold the values of the EU. "The Commission as custodian of the Treaties is supposed to lead by example, certainly at a time where trust in the institutions is low. Racist, sexist or homophobic 'locker-room talk' is not acceptable behaviour of a European commissioner. At his hearing Oettinger will have to convince us he genuinely respects European values", she said.
The S&D Group at the European Parliament has slammed Oettinger's clearly racist and homophobic comments and disparaging remarks about Wallonia. The group said that even before these offensive comments, his promotion to the position of vice-president of the European Commission, with an extension of his responsibilities, had been a problem. The S&D Group's position is clear: it is calling on Angela Merkel and Jean-Claude Juncker to take their responsibilities, as the EU can no longer allow its representatives currently in office to use such offensive and outrageous language.
Gabriele Zimmer (GUE/NGL, Germany) said that Oettinger was not fit for public office in the EU. "Someone who speaks disparagingly of Chinese people, homosexuals, women or the Walloon regional government is not suitable to represent European interests", she said. She went on to say that the position of commissioner with responsibility for the budget of the EU should be held by an individual who is "able to balance the interests of EU citizens and member states". However, speeches of this kind reinforce divisions instead of strengthening social cohesion, she said.
Visiting a federation of business leaders in Hamburg, Oettinger made a speech that was recorded by one attendee in video footage that was published on the Spiegel website on Saturday.
Describing Chinese people as "slitty-eyed rascals", Oettinger went on to say that at the EU-China summit, he had encountered a delegation of "nine men (one party, no democracy)" who had all "combed their hair from left to right with black shoe polish".
He then directed his opprobrium at mothers' pensions and gay marriage, which he said will soon be "imposed" in Germany. Then, according to a witness, Frank Compernolle, economic and trade attaché for Wallonia and Brussels, he attacked Wallonia, describing it as a "micro-region controlled by Communists that holds the whole of Europe back" by preventing it from signing the trade deal with Canda, which he said was unacceptable.
When approached by the Spiegel magazine for comment, Katarina Barley, the secretary general of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), said that anyone who openly peddles racist and homophobic views disqualifies himself from senior public office.
This is not the first time that Oettinger has slipped up with inappropriate comments, having done so in particular in September 2011, at the height of the Greek crisis. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur with Élodie Lamer)