In Brussels on Monday 9 January, the budgets, budgetary control and legal affairs committees of the European Parliament will carry out an exchange of views with Commissioner Günther Oettinger on his change of portfolio within the Commission. The meeting will give Oettinger the opportunity to discuss the future communication he plans to present on diversity and inclusion within his institution, by way of response to the criticism is currently facing.
Following this exchange of views, assessment meetings of the coordinators of each committee will be held behind closed doors regarding Oettinger's allocation to the 'Budget and Human Resources' portfolio, following the departure of Kristalina Georgieva to the World Bank. The three committees will draw up an assessment letter, to be discussed at the conference of presidents of the European Parliament on 12 January.
On 21 December 2016, Oettinger was given the Budget and Human Resources portfolio. However, the former Commissioner for the Economy and the Digital Society should expect a grilling on Monday over his racist and homophobic comments and inappropriate statements about Wallonia and the Chinese, and over accepting an offer to travel on board the private jet of a businessman with close links to the Kremlin (see EUROPE 11670).
How will you regain credibility? In their written questions to Oettinger, the MEPs make reference to his speech in Hamburg (on 26 October 2016), in which he made discriminatory comments about the Chinese, women and LGBTI individuals. " [As Commissioner for Human Resources, how do you intend] to give a boost to diversity and respect of human resources, in particular relating to ethnic minorities, women and LGBTI citizens and regain [your] credibility in this respect?" is one of the questions the MEPs put to the Commissioner. In his response, Oettinger explains that he "very much regrets" the fact that the words he used in his speech may have hurt people. "This was not my intention. My firm belief is that diversity is a strength and a core value at the heart of the European project", he replies.
A communication on diversity
To prove his good faith, Oettinger has furthermore undertaken to present a communication on diversity and inclusion in the coming months. This text is expected to contain the principal initiatives that the Commission is planning to implement to "foster diversity and inclusion amongst its staff up to the year 2019". Oettinger also stresses his priority of achieving the target of 40% of management positions at the Commission being held by women by 2019.
Regarding Oettinger's flight from Brussels to Budapest on board a private jet belonging to Klaus Mangold, a German businessman and lobbyist, the Commissioner explains, having repeated the definition of a meeting within the meaning of the Code Conduct of the Commissioners, that "no request for a meeting was launched either by Mangold, or by myself. The Hungarian authorities provided for a transport facility". He goes on to defend himself further by explaining that the transport means were related to his official mission at the time and "cannot be considered as a gift providing an advantage with a pecuniary value".
NGOs argue that Oettinger should not be given the Human Resources portfolio. A number of NGOs (ILGA-Europe, European Women’s Lobby, Transparency International EU, European Network Against Racism, Corporate Europe Observatory, IPPF European Network, Oxfam International EU Advocacy Office, Volonteurope, Stichting ERGO Network and Lobbycontrol) have written to the MEPs to stress that they "do not think that Commissioner Oettinger is suitable to oversee Human Resources at the European Commission". They refer to the fact that he has made "racist, sexist and homophobic" remarks on several occasions. "At this crucial moment with the EU, it is more vital than ever to have a strong and credible commitment from the European Commission to counter discrimination and act for equality for all", the NGOs write. The Commissioner in charge of human resources must "lead by example", they stress. Commissioner Oettinger "is not the right person for this task", the NGOs conclude, going on to criticise the fact that 90% of his meetings have been with corporate interest groups.
In addition to his current post as Vice-President with responsibility for the Digital Single Market, Andrus Ansip will also hold the portfolio of Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society. This configuration will remain in place until the Bulgarian authorities have appointed their new candidate and President Juncker has allocated this new Commissioner a dossier on the basis of his or her skill set (see EUROPE 11694). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)