Former Irish Finance Minister Michael McGrath is set to inherit the post of Commissioner for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law, if he passes the European Parliament hearings.
Dublin’s ambition was to take up an economic post, but on Tuesday 17 September the President-elect of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proposed that the 47-year-old former minister take over from Didier Reynders and Věra Jourová, who are currently in charge of these issues.
European Democracy Shield. The Commissioner-designate will continue to work to protect European democracy and step up the fight against foreign information manipulation and interference. He will coordinate work on disinformation and work with the rest of the College on digital and media literacy.
He will also be responsible for work to oversee the fairness and integrity of elections. “You will work to better protect the safety of political candidates and elected representatives who face mounting threats”, writes Ms von der Leyen. He will also have to focus on implementing the ‘European Media Freedom Act’.
Justice. With regard to his responsibilities in the area of justice, the mission statement of Commissioner-designate Michael McGrath states that he will have to draw up a “28th regime” at EU level, aimed at simplifying the rules for businesses operating in the Single Market while guaranteeing better consumer protection.
The aim would be to enable companies to comply with a harmonised legal framework that is simpler than the legislation specific to each Member State. This project is part of the ‘Consumer Agenda 2025-2030’, which will reassess current legislation.
Another priority will be the introduction of an ‘Action Plan on Consumers in the Single Market’, designed to prevent discrimination and protect citizens’ rights when shopping across borders.
In addition, he will be responsible for developing a “Digital Fairness Act” to combat unfair online commercial practices, such as those used by certain e-commerce platforms.
The Commissioner-designate is also called upon to work towards the modernisation and application of product safety policies in order to maintain the EU’s position as global standard-setter in terms of consumer protection.
In addition, he will be required to ensure that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) remains in line with to digital transformation and respects business needs while protecting citizens.
Finally, Mr McGrath will be responsible for strengthening cross-border judicial cooperation. He will work to improve the effectiveness and application of the European Arrest Warrant and to strengthen coordination between the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), Eurojust and Europol, particularly in the fight against organised crime and financial offences.
He will also have to determine how to improve complementarity between EPPO and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) to better combat corruption relating to EU funds.
Rule of law. “European democracy and the economy are based on justice and the Rule of law. Justice and the Rule of law enable our society to function”, writes Ursula von der Leyen.
The Irish candidate will be responsible for leading the work to consolidate the Rule of Law Report, which each year takes stock of progress and setbacks in the Rule of law in the twenty-seven Member States across the four pillars of judicial independence, anti-corruption, media freedom and other institutional checks and balances.
He will also have to “add a Single Market dimension to the Rule of Law Report to address Rule of law issues affecting companies, particularly SMEs, operating across borders”.
In addition, Mr McGrath will have to ensure as well that the EU candidate countries join the Rule of Law Report as soon as possible.
Ms von der Leyen is asking him to also support “efforts for a reinforced application of the Article 7 mechanism” of the Treaty, which currently concerns Hungary.
Conditionality. As well as ensuring that Member States respect the Rule of law, Michael McGrath will have to both fight corruption and, in collaboration with the Commissioner-designate for Budget, Piotr Serafin, ensure that EU funds are spent on it.
This will include establishing a sufficient budget for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028-2034), with the general system of conditionality applying to all funds, according to the mission letter.
Piotr Serafin and Michael McGrath will be called upon to take financial measures in the event of non-compliance with the Rule of law, guided in particular by the work relating to Article 7.
Link to the mission letter: https://aeur.eu/f/dih (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic, Nithya Paquiry and Florent Servia)