The Vice-President-designate of the European Commission, responsible for Cohesion Policy and Reforms, Raffaele Fitto, was heckled on Tuesday 12 November during his hearing in front the European Parliament’s Committee on Regional Development.
A devoted lieutenant of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Raffaele Fitto had a complicated hearing, even though he assured the audience from the outset that he was not there to represent a political party or a Member State, but to “affirm his commitment to Europe”. The left and centre in the Parliament are not happy that the outgoing Italian Minister for European Affairs should become Vice-President of the ‘von der Leyen II’ Commission, as Fratelli d'Italia, Giorgia Meloni’s far-right party, did not support Ms von der Leyen when she was re-elected.
Terry Reintke (Greens/EFA, German) stressed that Raffaele Fitto had shown in the past that he did not defend the values of the European Union and that he had voted against respect for the Rule of law. “He is not fit to represent the Commission as Executive Vice-President”, she said.
The outcome of the assessment of his hearing remains open and uncertain, while the political groups decided on Tuesday 12 November to wait until the following day before giving their opinion on the assessment of the executive vice-presidents-designate whose hearings were held on the same day (see other news). This scenario was foreseeable after the leaders of the European Parliament’s political groups decided to postpone the vote on Olivér Várhelyi (see EUROPE 13521/3) until Wednesday.
Fund management. Marcos Ros Sempere (S&D, Spanish) criticised the Italian government, from which Mr Fitto hails, for centralising cohesion policy. On the contrary, the Vice-President-designate said that the reform of cohesion policy in Italy had not resulted in centralisation. The reform was approved by the European Commission and the regional authorities in Italy, he pointed out.
Rule of Law. Vladimir Prebilič (Greens/EFA, Slovenian) brought up the candidate’s past and his actions and statements on the Rule of law. Raffaele Fitto committed to represent the Commission and ensure full implementation of the texts and treaties relating to the Rule of law.
Klára Dobrev (S&D, Hungarian) asked the Commissioner-designate how he intended to deal with the Hungarian government. Mr Fitto voted against activating Article 7 of the Treaty against Budapest for violating the Rule of law, and the Italian government is known to be very friendly towards that of Mr Orbàn.
Fascism. Holding up a photo of Spanish Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez-Feijóo shaking hands with Giorgia Meloni, MEP Ana Miranda Paz (Greens/EFA, Spanish) described Mr Fitto as a symbol of “neo-fascist whitewashing” and even criticised him for his incompetence in managing European funds. Mr Fitto sarcastically thanked the MEP for her “very constructive and respectful” question, saying that she had made serious accusations against him.
European Green Deal. Mr Fitto undertook to guarantee the collegiality of decisions within the Commission (these decisions are taken collectively by the College of Commissioners and each of the 27 Commissioners has equal weight in the decision-making process). When asked by Vladimir Prebilič (Greens/EFA, Slovenian) whether he was committed to the EU’s green targets - including a halt to sales of new combustion engines by 2035 - he replied that it would be a waste of time to go back on previous positions on decisions that had already been taken.
He said that he had no problem confirming the objectives of the European Green Deal, but also added that they might have to be adapted to the new situation.
‘Only one Fitto’. When Gordan Bosanac (Greens/EFA, Croatian) quipped that there were ‘three Fittos’, referring to the Commissioner-designate’s Christian Democrat past, his membership of the far-right Fratelli d'Italia party and his future as a European Commissioner, Mr Fitto replied: “There is only one Fitto”.
On the future of cohesion policy, Mr Fitto said that the policy needed to be simplified (reducing bureaucracy) and made more flexible, and that strict evaluation methods would need to be maintained to ensure the effectiveness of the funds. Mr Fitto, a three-time MEP on the Committee on Regional Development, emphasised the importance that cohesion policy would have during this 5-year mandate, thanks to this vice-presidency.
He pointed out that the cohesion policy budget represented one third of the EU’s MFF. This policy must remain central to the next MFF and must be adequately funded. This policy needs to be better aligned with the EU’s priorities, while preserving its flagship principles (territorialised approach, multi-level governance and partnership), he told MEPs. He also defended a strengthened and modernised cohesion policy.
Responding to Andrey Novakov (EPP, Bulgarian) on how to ensure the continuation of cohesion policy in favour of the most disadvantaged regions, Mr Fitto said that the role of local and regional authorities should be strengthened and that multi-level governance should be maintained. He advocated a cohesion policy capable of adapting to emerging challenges such as climate change, digital transformation and demographic change.
Afroditi Latinopoulou (PfE, Greek) deplored the discrepancies between the agricultural regions, which are lagging behind the major urban regions, while Denis Nesci (ECR, Italian) spoke of the challenges facing island and mountain regions.
Purchase of weapons. “It is not possible to finance the purchase of weapons with cohesion policy funds. It is not planned and it is not possible”, said Mr Fitto, referring to an article in the Financial Times according to which the Commission is considering authorising Member States to mobilise cohesion funds to finance certain military mobility projects.
Next Generation EU. The best way to ensure that the ‘Recovery and Resilience Facility’ (RRF) is used as effectively as possible is to help Member States fully meet their commitments by the end of 2026, reiterated Mr Fitto. He thus intends to work to ensure that Member States implement the reforms and investments agreed and set out in the programmes by 2026.
Mr Fitto spoke of the work of the ‘Fathers of Europe’, including the founder of the Italian Christian Democracy party, Alcide De Gasperi (the room in which the hearing is being held is named after him). He declared that he had been touched by the work done by this man to ensure the success of the European project and that he had been inspired by this to take on the cohesion portfolio.
“We need to think about the message we want to leave to our children, the goals we have for the future. Just as Mr De Gasperi did for us”, he concluded. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)