After talking to them by phone, the President-elect of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Tuesday 15 October invited several political group leaders from the European Parliament to meet her over breakfast on Friday 18 October.
This meeting was intended to regain the initiative after the rejection of the three Commissioners-designate from Romania, Hungary and France. Objective: to find common ground on a political line and finalise the composition of a College that would secure a stable and lasting political majority in the Chamber.
As of Tuesday, not all the group leaders invited to breakfast were guaranteed to attend.
With this “risk of a political shift” in the European Parliament, the establishment of the “von der Leyen” College is not guaranteed, while the vote of MEPs must be “as broad as possible” so that the political programme announced by the President-elect of the Commission can be implemented within the next 5 years, said a French source from the Élysée on Tuesday 15 October, the day after a meeting in Paris between Mrs von der Leyen and the French President, Emmanuel Macron (see EUROPE 12348/21).
According to them, political contacts will take place on the sidelines of the European Summit, including at pre-summits held by political families, as well as between the Parliament’s EPP, S&D and Renew Europe groups. And then there will “probably be a meeting involving Mrs von der Leyen and Mr Sassoli. Still to be defined in the coming hours, on Thursday and Friday, is the organization of a majority policy for the next five years in Parliament”, added this source, who does not want to see environmentalists excluded from these discussions.
For its part, France, which rejects any changes to the outline of the Internal Market portfolio initially assigned to Sylvie Goulard, considers this stabilisation of the pro-European political majority in Parliament “the prerequisite for the appointment of a French Commissioner”.
Despite several attempts, the EPP, S&D, Renew Europe and Greens/EFA groups were unable to draw up a common strategic agenda for the next institutional cycle before electing Mrs von der Leyen at the end of July (see EUROPE 12292/5, 12298/1).
In the European Parliament, a source confirmed a request made by Mrs von der Leyen for a “Friday” meeting with Parliament’s pro-European political groups. But the format is “not set”, she said.
Another parliamentary source indicated that they had not heard anything about this. “I would be surprised, because I don't see where it could lead”, they objected.
On Wednesday, the Conference of Presidents of the Political Groups will take stock of the hearings process that led to the confirmation of 23 Commissioners-designate and the rejection of the Romanian, Hungarian and French candidates. Upon adopting the agenda for the plenary session starting on Monday 21 October, it will record the postponement of the vote on the whole ‘von der Leyen’ Commission to the next plenary session at the end of November at the earliest.
Parliament will set a new timetable for the hearings of the remaining three Commissioners-designate once the three individuals and their respective portfolios are known. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)