Although no timetable was formally agreed on Wednesday 16 September by the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament political groups for the hearings of Mairead McGuiness and Valdis Dombrovskis (see EUROPE 12555/1), 12 October as a date was mentioned, according to a parliamentary source.
The two Commissioners-designate have in any case received their mission letters from the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, which will enable Parliament to determine which parliamentary committees will be qualified for their respective hearings.
As Commissioner-designate for Financial Services and Financial Stability, Ms McGuinness’s first, and in no way last, task will be the completion of the Banking Union, including the finalisation of the common backstop for the Single Resolution Fund and agreeing on a European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS).
According to her Mission letter, the current Parliament Vice-President will also be responsible for accelerating work on the Capital Markets Union and developing the strategy on sustainable finance in the framework of the European Green Deal. Fighting money laundering, the financial technology strategy and cryptocurrency are also part of her portfolio.
In addition, Ms McGuinness will be responsible for developing “a new private-public fund specialising in initial public offerings for SMEs”, as well as drawing up proposals to ensure that “Europe is more resistant to extraterritorial sanctions by third countries”.
The S&D group in Parliament recently questioned the compatibility of the Irish Christian Democrats with this portfolio, even though the President of the Eurogroup and the chief economist of the ECB are of the same nationality. Social Democrats are waiting to be convinced that Ms McGuinness will fight for tax justice and harmonisation when Ireland’s corporate tax rate was 12.5% in 2019 (see EUROPE 12558/24).
Ms McGuinness will work under the leadership of Mr Dombrovskis, who remains Executive Vice-President of the Commission, for “an Economy that Works for Citizens”.
See Ms McGuinness’ mission letter: https://bit.ly/33xsvMd
EU trade policy reform in the spotlight
By inheriting the Foreign Trade portfolio after the resignation of Mr Hogan (see EUROPE 12546/1), Valdis Dombrovskis increases his scope for action on economic issues within the Commission, while retaining his place in the areas of power that matter, such as the Eurogroup and the ECB.
According to the new Mission letter sent to him by Ms von der Leyen, the Executive Vice-President will be responsible for carrying out the review of European trade policy initiated by his predecessor. As part of this vast scope, he will in particular promote better EU protection against unfair practices by foreign companies in the Single Market, including by enhancing the ability of Europeans to ensure their rules are respected and even to sanction offenders more effectively.
In parallel, Mr Dombrovskis will continue to promote a rules-based trading system (WTO reform).
In addition to seeking a new “mutually beneficial” partnership with the United States and an investment agreement with China “by the end of 2020”, the former Latvian Prime Minister will need to prioritise an investment partnership with Africa. He should work towards finalising negotiations with Australia and New Zealand and, where conditions permit, propose the opening of negotiations on bilateral or multilateral free trade agreements.
“Every new trade agreement concluded will have a dedicated chapter on sustainable development”, Ms von der Leyen stressed.
Together with Ms von der Leyen, Mr Dombrovskis will continue to be responsible for the implementation of the European Recovery Plan, the budgetary process of the ‘European Semester’ and the European Pillar of Social Rights. He will continue to represent the Commission at the ECB, the EIB and the EBRD.
See Mr Dombrovskis’ mission letter: https://bit.ly/3iFn0RW (Original version in French by Marion Fontana and Mathieu Bion)