It will be up to the European Parliament to formally record the postponement after 1 November of the Commission's entry into office, perhaps on Wednesday 16 October, when the Conference of Presidents of the Political Groups will meet to review the confirmation process for the Commissioners-designate.
Parliament President David Sassoli already said this weekend, on the margins of the Cernobbio conference organised by Coldiretti, representing Italian agricultural producers, that since “three Commissioners should be proposed by Romania, Hungary and France”, “it may no longer be possible to respect the date of 1 November and that we will move towards that of 1 December”.
Hungary presented Olivér Várhelyi, its Ambassador to the EU. Before its fall, the Romanian government had proposed Dan Nica, but the future government could reverse this decision. France holds the entire Internal Market portfolio, which had been allocated to Ms Goulard.
On Monday, the future High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said that, “if we take seriously the process” of the hearings of the Commissioners-designate in the European Parliament, it would be possible to respect the timetable set, namely a vote on the whole von der Leyen Commission in plenary session on Wednesday 23 October. “Doing something that would look like a simple formality would not, I think, contribute to the prestige of the process”, he added.
On the same day, in Paris, the President-elect of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, met the French President, Emmanuel Macron, who had asked for explanations on the rejection of the candidature of the Commissioner-designate for the Internal Market, Sylvie Goulard, by the relevant European Parliament committees (see EUROPE 12346/1). She is set on putting together a Commission with gender parity.
In front of some journalists in Brussels, the outgoing Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Pierre Moscovici, advocated caution against the von der Leyen Commission rushing into office.
“I still prefer 1 November to any other date. We must also take the time necessary to build a pro-European majority. If you have to take another month, it's not an ideal solution. It is better to be solid than hasty”, said the European Commissioner.
Mr Moscovici stressed the importance of building “a sustainable political majority” between the four main political groups – EPP, S&D, Renew Europe and Greens/EFA – of the European Parliament, while the Chamber is more fragmented than in the previous legislature.
In July, these political groups had failed to present a strategic agenda for the next institutional cycle (see EUROPE 12292/5).
If the Commission's entry into office is delayed, it will be up to the Juncker Commission not only to express its views in the second half of October on the 2020 draft budget plans presented by the euro area countries, but also to present the autumn economic forecasts on 7 November. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)