MEPs are going to be asked to decide whether it is necessary for the European Commission to relaunch the selection process for the post of European Union SME Envoy on Thursday, 11 April, during the European Parliament’s mini-plenary session in Brussels (see EUROPE 13384/19).
Technically, the vote will take place on the occasion of considering an amendment—submitted by the Greens/EFA group and some elected members from the S&D and Renew Europe groups—to the European Parliament’s draft resolution on the discharge to be granted to the European Commission in the context of implementing the 2022 EU budget.
“We are calling on the [European Commission] to rescind the appointment and launch a truly transparent and open process for the selection of the EU SME Envoy”, Daniel Freund (Greens/EFA, German) declared via X on Friday, 5 April.
See the submitted amendment: https://aeur.eu/f/bnb
That same day, European Commission [Chief] Spokesperson Eric Mamer rectified comments he made the day before regarding the controversial appointment of Markus Pieper of Germany—currently an MEP in the EPP group—to the post of EU SME Envoy by stating that his contract had, in fact, been signed. He is expected to take office on Tuesday, 16 April. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)