The coordinators of the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee were unable to give the green light on Tuesday evening, 1 October, to the appointment of Swede Ylva Johansson as Commissioner for Home Affairs. As her nomination did not receive the necessary two-thirds of the votes, she will have to provide further written answers within 48 hours from the receipt of the corresponding questions, which were still being prepared on Wednesday 2 October.
Several groups expressed their frustration, in particular the EPP and the Greens/EFA, after her rather vague hearing (see EUROPE 12339/1).
At the end of the hearing, the MEP from the EPP asked for more details on the fight against terrorism and Europol’s role. The Greens/EFA, on the other hand, remained disappointed with migration agreements with non-Member States and provisions on fundamental rights, wanting an automatic evaluation of these rights in the countries concerned.
In general, the Swede also disappointed the MEPs concerning the revision of the European asylum system, about which she only repeated that she would come back to MEPs when the time came. “We are not yet at the stage of rejecting her”, said a parliamentary source, who hopes that her new answers will improve on her 2 October performance. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)