An intense week of hearings at the European Parliament ends on Friday 4 October for the European Commission. The accounts for the von der Leyen Commission are currently rather positive and are the expected result of the parliamentary political game.
Of the 19 candidates presented to parliamentarians so far: 14 succeeded hands down in their hearing, 2 were validated without much lustre and 3 were given a new series of written questions to try to convince the MEPs. The candidates from Hungary and Romania, after having been rejected by the Legal Affairs Committee, are still pending. There are still 5 Commissioners left to audition next week.
With the necessary caution, these results are currently comparable to those recorded by the Juncker Committee at the end of the hearings in 2014, when 6 Commissioners-designate faced difficulty (see EUROPE 11172/3), with the removal of Slovenian Alenka Bratušek in particular (see EUROPE 11181/3).
However, a large number of candidates passed the MEPs’ examination without difficulty, often obtaining almost unanimous support (Identity and Democracy having, in most cases, rejected the candidates) or a two-thirds majority.
Good performances
Thus, among the candidates on 30 September, whether it was the Commissioner-designate for Trade, the Irish Phil Hogan (see EUROPE 12341/27) (the Greens reportedly abstained), the candidate for Innovation and Youth, Mariya Gabriel (see EUROPE 12339/28, 12338/2), or the Slovak Maroš Šefčovič (see EUROPE 12340/21, 12338/3), Vice-President-designate for Interinstitutional Relations, all received support from the coordinators of the various committees concerned. The latter has stood out for his clear support for a right of initiative for the European Parliament.
On the second day of the hearings, the Commissioner-designate for Employment, Nicolas Schmit of Luxembourg, who highlighted his long experience as Minister (without convincing ID) (see EUROPE 12339/3), the candidate Commissioner for International Partnerships, Finland's Jutta Urpilainen, designated to International Partnerships (with GUE/NGL abstention and rejection by ID) (see EUROPE 12341/26) and Cyprus's Stella Kyriakides (see EUROPE 12340/22), nominated for Health, also easily found a two-thirds majority.
On Wednesday 2 October, four Commissioners-designate also received strong support from parliamentarians. These are the Belgian Didier Reynders for Justice (see EUROPE 12340/2), despite allegations of money laundering and corruption against him, the Portuguese Elisa Ferreira for Cohesion and Reforms (see EUROPE 12340/3) – applauded and unanimously supported, Slovenian Janez Lenarčič for Crisis Management, unanimously supported by the coordinators (see EUROPE 12340/4) and Helena Dalli of Malta for Equality (see EUROPE 12341/25, 12340/5).
Finally, Thursday 3 October also brought its share of successes, in particular with Greek Margaritis Schinas, whose performance during the hearing was welcomed by MEPs, while his portfolio dedicated to the Protection of the European way of life raised fears of a parliamentary uprising (see EUROPE 12341/1). Johannes Hahn, appointed Vice-President for Budget and Administration, also passed without difficulty, thanks to his long experience within the Commission (see EUROPE 12341/2). Similarly, Paolo Gentiloni, who should be assigned the Economy portfolio, successfully completed the hearing and convinced MEPs (see EUROPE 12341/3), as was expected at the turning point on the issue of compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact. The young Lithuanian Virginijus Sinkevičius, who will reportedly focus on the Environment and Oceans, also received strong support from the coordinators (see EUROPE 12341/4).
Satisfactory performances
Croatian Dubravka Šuica, who is expected to become Vice-President for Democracy and Demography, suffering from a arduous performance (see EUROPE 12341/6) at her hearing on Thursday 3 October, barely received the support of two-thirds of MEPs, thanks to a coalition between the EPP, the S&D and Renew Europe (see other news).
Similarly, Estonian Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson did not deliver a brilliant hearing, overshadowed by contradictory and too vague remarks (see EUROPE 12341/5), on Thursday 3 October. However, she received the support of the EPP, Renew Europe, the S&D, and also the Greens/EFA, according to our information.
Performances deemed insufficient
Of the Commissioners put forward, three did not receive the support of MPs because of their lack of expertise or suspicions about their probity. The French Sylvie Goulard falls into this second category. Appointed to take over the vast portfolio dedicated to the Internal Market, after her controversial performance on Wednesday 2 October, Ms Goulard was asked a series of questions on Friday 4 October to clarify her situation with regard to the cases that taint her candidature (see other news, EUROPE 12340/1).
Sweden's Ylva Johansson (Home Affairs), for her part, provoked the discontent of the EPP and the Greens/EFA and was also asked a series of written questions (see EUROPE 12340/7). Pole Janusz Wojciechowski, who should be responsible for the portfolio dedicated to Agriculture and Rural Development, failed his hearing on Tuesday 1 October and did not convince the EPP, S&D and Renew Europe, in particular (see EUROPE 12339/4, 12340/6). He too was given another series of questions.
The two unknowns
Two major unknowns remain: the replacement of the Hungarian and Romanian candidates, László Trócsányi (Neighbourhood and Enlargement) and Rovana Plumb (Transport), respectively, who were reprimanded by the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) due to potential conflicts of interest (see EUROPE 12336/2). Dan Nica is being discussed to replace the Romanian and Oliver Varhelyi instead of the Hungarian. But since then, no name has been officially validated by President-elect Ursula von der Leyen, leaving MEPs and Parliament administration in the dark.
Five Commissioners due
Five Commissioners-designate have yet to pass before the MEPs. On Monday 7 October, the Czech Republic’s Vĕra Jourová, for the Vice-President for Values and Transparency, and Josep Borrell, who should be appointed High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Tuesday 8 October, will be the finale, with the hearing of the three Executive Vice-Presidents-designate, namely Latvian Valdis Dombrovskis (Financial Services), Dane Margrethe Vestager (Digital and Competition) and finally, Dutch Frans Timmermans (Green Deal). After that, the last three candidates will have to hold an in camera exchange of views with the Conference of Presidents (CoP). The date remains to be determined.
It will be up to the CoP to give the green light or not to vote in plenary on the whole college of Commissioners. This vote is scheduled, if everything goes normally, for 23 October next. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)