MEPs were left wanting after a hearing with Trade Commissioner-designate Phil Hogan of Ireland on Monday 30 September (see EUROPE 12338/1). Mr Hogan will not have been accepted into his position until the day after his hearing, thanks to a vote at a meeting of the group's coordinators on Tuesday 1 October, where he obtained the necessary two-thirds majority.
The day after the Commissioner-designate's hearing, there was a certain scepticism among some groups in the Parliamentary Committee on International Trade (INTA).
In a draft letter to Mr Hogan (at the time of going to press, the final letter was not yet available) written by the groups, some points are mentioned that the INTA Committee hopes to see better prioritised during its mandate.
This underlines the need for a more ambitious and upstream engagement with the European Parliament, including a condition of prior consent for any provisional implementation of FTAs.
The Irishman will also need to explain more precisely to MEPs how he intends to improve provisions on trade and sustainable development (and, more generally, how to engage in climate trade policy).
The determination of the role of the ‘CTEO’, the new Commercial Implementation Officer, and the strengthening of the Commission's Implementing Regulation, are information that MEPs would also like to see submitted.
Finally, respect for European values in digital commerce is also mentioned.
The Greens/EFA did not support the right-wing commissioner's candidacy. In a letter to the group coordinators and seen by EUROPE, Heidi Hautala (Finland) reported that her group was unable to support Mr Hogan in this position and expressed scepticism on a number of points: lack of ambition on climate issues, promotion of due diligence for private operators, more ambitious implementation with regard to the chapters on sustainable development of free trade agreements and investment protection. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)