New EU Commission faces an increasingly unstable world

It is the new look governmental team that’s been dominating the headlines of late. The debate over who gets which jobs has been top of the news agenda for weeks. But this is not the team currently being assembled by Donald Trump as he prepares for a second stint in the Oval Office. This is the team of EU commissioners being put together by Ursula von der Leyen as she, also, prepares for a second term as Commission President, the EU’s top job.

This task has received relatively little, if any, publicity but should be of significance, at least for those who live and work in mainland Europe. The one thing Trump and von der Leyen have in common is that the road towards assembling their cabinet/commissioners has been paved with obstacles and no little controversy.

All speculation came to an end this week when Members of the European Parliament gave the green light to the von der Leyen 2.0 European Commission (EC). It means that the Commission will take office on Sunday – and finally get to work solving some of the EU’s thorniest problems.

Power struggle concludes

A vote by MEPs concluded a five-month-long power struggle and sets Europe on a new path. A majority of MEPs, some 370, voted in favour but several delegations voted against or abstained including Hungary’s Viktor Orbán’s Patriots for Europe group. Fewer than 50% of MEPs from France, Spain, Hungary, Belgium, Slovenia and the Czech Republic backed von der Leyen’s college.

It is the weakest result in decades for a team of commissioners.

On Wednesday, MEPs voted to approve the new team of commissioners presented by commission president von der Leyen. This follows EU elections way back in June and the conclusion of the commission’s five year term.

The majority of MEPs, some 370, voted in favour but several delegations voted against or abstained including Hungary’s Viktor Orbán’s Patriots for Europe group. Fewer than 50% of MEPs from France, Spain, Hungary, Belgium, Slovenia and the Czech Republic backed von der Leyen’s College.

Von der Leyen (who is a German CDU politician) first announced her team back in September and the list approved this week by MEPs comprises the same commissioners’ names with almost all with the same responsibilities.

Assembling the cabinets

A formal ratification process was held in the form of confirmation hearings before MEPs but, unlike in previous years, none of the candidates were rejected after this process. Attention now turns to assembling the powerful cabinets of the 27 new commissioners, known in EU jargon as the “college”. It’s worth remembering that the EC is particularly powerful as it is the one institution that initiates legislation.

As well as a new team of EU commissioners it is, in fact, all change at the top of the EU. In his last major act as EU foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell has this week pushed for an end to the Middle East conflict. The Spaniard is being replaced as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy by Kaja Kallas from Estonia.

The in tray for the new Commission is brimming over but on topics like action against climate change and nature destruction, a social Europe with its own resources, the defence of individual freedoms and the rule of law, the EU is deeply divided.

Controversial nominee

The Spanish candidate for the new commission, Teresa Ribera, who is lined up for the post of “executive vice-president for a clean, just and competitive transition”, proved to be the one nominee who, arguably, sparked most controversy. Some MEPs had accused her of failing to address demands about her commitment to resign if the Spanish justice department accuses her of wrongdoing during the management of the recent devastating floods in two Spanish regions which killed scores of people.

Some MEPs from the Greens group, which had voiced opposition to Hungary’s Olivér Várhelyi and Italy’s Raffaele Fitto as members of the new EU executive, also voted against the von der Leyen team despite the commission president’s recent statements in support of co-operation. Fitto is a member of the right-wing extremist Fratelli d’Italia and, despite concern in some quarters, gets a top position in the new Commission

Speaking in Strasbourg on Wednesday von der Leyen, a former defence minister in Germany, presented her team and programme. She also confirmed the portfolio changes requested by MEPs in the course of parliament’s evaluation process, telling MEPs, “We are ready to get to work immediately”. She stressed that her Commission “will always be devoted to fighting for freedom, sovereignty, security and prosperity”.

Europe’s security is paramount

On the ongoing wars in Ukraine, the Middle East and parts of Africa, von der Leyen admitted that “Europe must play a stronger role in all of these areas”, stressing that it is “needed more than ever”. Strengthening security is crucial, she said, calling on Europe to spend more on defence. “Europe’s security will always be this Commission’s priority,” she told deputies.

Von der Leyen announced that the Commission’s first initiative will be a “competitiveness compass” to close Europe’s innovation gap with the US and China, to increase security and independence and to deliver on decarbonisation. On the European Green Deal, she said, “we must and we will stay the course on its goals”.

She committed to presenting a clean industrial deal, to launch a strategic dialogue on the future of Europe’s car industry, continue working on a competitive circular economy, and work towards a European savings and investment union.

Europe at a crossroads

Reaction to the outcome of the vote was swift with S&D Group leader, Iratxe García, whose group is the second biggest in the EU Parliament, warning that, “Our support is not a blank cheque. We will not accept double-dealing”. The Spanish member added, “We are at a decisive moment for the future of the European project. We face challenges of enormous magnitude at a time when the extreme right wants to put an end to the European project, Trump threatens to break the transatlantic link, China has shattered trade rules, international law is questioned as a consequence of Putin’s devastating war against Ukraine and Netanyahu’s slaughter in Gaza and Lebanon”.

She continued, “With Teresa Ribera’s leadership on the green transition, Roxana Mînzatu’s commitment to quality jobs, Dan Jørgensen’s commitment to access to housing and Glenn Micallef’s engagement for the future of young people, Social Democrats will do their utmost to advance in the EU agenda with a constructive and pro-European approach”.

European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) co-leader Nicola Procaccini said that a centre-left dominance in the EU had “now been broken”, adding, “Defending the national interest does not mean being Eurosceptic or anti-European. Rather, it means loving the original and wonderful idea of a Europe of peoples, united in diversity”.

Uncertain times ahead

A slim majority of Greens/EFA MEPs supported the new college and its co-leader Terry Reintke noted, “We have long argued that a strong pro-European majority is essential for stable and effective politics over the next five years. These times are incredibly uncertain with economic turbulence, the war in Ukraine, the climate crisis, and Trump’s return. A slim majority of our group has voted for the College of Commissioners to ensure a stable Europe in a time of division. This was a difficult decision for our Group and was not taken lightly”. 

But other MEPs have signalled their strong disapproval of the new College of Commissioners.

The Left Group is particularly scathing, branding the outcome as “a complete farce”.

It added, “Political groups in Parliament have endorsed the most far-right, corporate-driven, and ethically compromised Commission in EU history.

“This is the first EU administration in history that relies on anti-democratic political forces. It’s no accident, but a well-calculated political choice from Socialists, Liberals, and Conservatives to back a Commission that erodes democratic values.

“What is being spun as a ‘democratic majority’ is, in reality, an EPP wish list enforced through a ‘Cordon Flexitaire’, where conservatives strike deals with the far right when liberals and socialists hesitate.”

Mixed opinions

“These scandalous deals ensured key posts went to candidates whose records reek of ineptitude and corruption: a Climate Commissioner with offshore dealings and ties to fossil fuels, a Cohesion Commissioner formerly banned from office for bribery, and an Innovation Commissioner accused of selling EU passports to the highest bidder. These appointments were rubber-stamped with barely a pretence of scrutiny. Accountability has been sacrificed on the altar of power-sharing”, the Left statement said.

However, the business world, represented at EU level by BusinessEurope, welcomed the vote with its president Fredrik Persson stating, “We congratulate von der Leyen and her whole College on their confirmation. The timely approval of the new Commission is good news for Europe. The EU now urgently needs a bold agenda to restore its competitiveness, empower businesses, attract investment and drive innovation.

“Echoing the recommendations of the Draghi and Letta reports, we call on the new European Commission to urgently propose a coherent competitiveness strategy to steer our economic ship back on course. It will be key to reduce the energy cost gap with our major competitors while staying on track for the green transition, reduce the regulatory overburden on European companies, speed up permitting procedures, and diversify our export and import markets.

Business supports the new commissioners

“The European business community stands ready to support the new European Commission and its President in the necessary efforts to make sure that Europe becomes the best place to live, work and do business again.”

As well as von der Leyen and Kallas the other members of the Commission will be:

•    Magnus BRUNNER (Austria)
•    Hadja LAHBIB (Belgium)
•    Ekaterina SPASOVA GECHEVA-ZAHARIEVA (Bulgaria)
•    Dubravka ŠUICA (Croatia)
•    Constantinos KADIS (Cyprus)
•    Jozef SÍKELA (Czechia)
•    Dan JØRGENSEN (Denmark)
•    Henna Maria VIRKKUNEN (Finland)
•    Stéphane SÉJOURNÉ (France)
•    Apostolos TZITZIKOSTAS (Greece)
•    Olivér VÁRHELYI (Hungary)
•    Michael MCGRATH (Ireland)
•    Raffaele FITTO (Italy)
•    Valdis DOMBROVSKIS (Latvia)
•    Andrius KUBILIUS (Lithuania)
•    Christophe HANSEN (Luxembourg)
•    Glenn MICALLEF (Malta)
•    Wopke Bastiaan HOEKSTRA (Netherlands)
•    Piotr Arkadiusz SERAFIN (Poland)
•    Maria Luís CASANOVA MORGADO DIAS DE ALBUQUERQUE (Portugal)
•    Roxana MÎNZATU (Romania)
•    Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ (Slovakia)
•    Marta KOS (Slovenia)
•    Teresa RIBERA RODRÍGUEZ (Spain)
•    Jessika ROSWALL (Sweden)

The full team can be found here:

https://commission.europa.eu/about-european-commission/towards-new-commission-2024-2029/commissioners-designate-2024-2029_en

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