The European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) rejected by a narrow majority (27 votes against, 20 in favour, 0 abstentions), on Thursday 23 January, the candidacy of Irish MEP Gerry Cross for the post of Executive Director of the European Banking Authority (EBA).
This position will be binding if the European Parliament plenary session confirms it, perhaps at the mini-plenary session next week or, more likely, in February, according to a parliamentary source. This would be a first, even if in 2012 the Parliament had rejected Yves Mersch's candidacy for the Executive Board of the European Central Bank on gender equality issues in a non-binding vote (see EUROPE 10718/23).
Above all, MEPs on Thursday felt that Mr Cross's candidacy carried a risk of conflict of interest, as he had worked for the AFME, a major financial lobby, before joining the Central Bank of Ireland. In mid-January, the Parliament had in fact expressed strong reservations about Adam Farkas, Executive Director of the EBA, who will join the AFME in February (see EUROPE 12405/11).
But other considerations were taken into account in arriving at this position, including the gender issue to which the Parliament is very attached. Already in December, MEPs, who had met the three shortlisted candidates for the post, had discreetly expressed their unanimous reluctance to the Supervisory Board of the European Authority, believing that Mr Cross was the least competent person for the job. The Supervisory Board had nevertheless ignored the warning.
“The EBA needs stability after the 'Farkas' case. (...) Legally, the rules have been respected, but there is a problem of image and credibility”, said another parliamentary source, for whom “serious” questions must be asked about the functioning of the EBA, particularly in the fight against money laundering. “There are national authorities that don't play the European game”, the source criticised.
In the vote, the S&D, Greens/EFA, GUE/NGL groups and a strong majority of the Renew Europe group voted against Mr Cross' candidacy. The EPP Group, which was under strong pressure from the Member States, was divided along national lines.
If the European Parliament plenary follows the position of the ECON Committee, it will be up to the Commission either to choose the second best candidate identified or to launch a new recruitment procedure. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)