Teresa Ribera is being examined this Tuesday in the European Parliament, which has to approve her appointment as Vice President of Competition and Fair and Clean Transition of the new European Commission. Beyond the obstacles that Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s PP is putting in her way, which is maneuvering to try to convince her European family to, at the very least, make it difficult for her to pass, the socialist leader’s big problem is called Raffaele. Fitto, the candidate of the Italian far-right Giorgia Meloni.
The hearings of the vice presidents of the European Commission have become a kind of trading card exchange between the different political families. Socialists and liberals – who form, together with the European People’s Party, the coalition that supports Ursula von der Leyen – do not like Fitto’s nomination as executive vice president at all. The German’s decision means placing the extreme right in that position for the first time when, furthermore, Meloni did not even second her appointment nor did the Fratelli d’Italia vote in favor last July.
But the support of the socialists is essential for Fitto to approve on the first try, since the candidates need the support of two-thirds of the coordinators of the commissions before which they are examined. And the ‘yes’ of the EPP and the far-right forces is not enough.
Trading cards
It was initially planned – under an agreement reached by the EPP and far-right forces – that Fitto would be the first to be evaluated. In this way, the social democrats and liberals would have to decide if they supported him, despite their reluctance, or if they rejected him, assuming a chain reaction that would affect Ribera and also the French candidate, Stephane Sejourné. Late on Monday there was an agreement by the three major political families so that the evaluations of the six vice presidents would be carried out at the same time, when all the hearings were over. What is not clear is whether the decision will be made on Tuesday night or if it will move to Wednesday.
The EPP is defending Fitto as one of its own – he belonged to Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia before moving to Meloni’s far right. In fact, the popular Europeans agreed with the ultra forces on the calendar of the hearings to leave the vice presidents in last place against the criteria of socialists and liberals, who advocated that they be the first to go through the European Parliament to minimize the risks. that the rejection of any nominee could be used by the groups to punish the ‘heavyweights’.
The PP wants to see Ribera suffer
Despite the agreement for the evaluations to be carried out en bloc, what is taken for granted is that they will be interconnected in this first phase in which the support of two thirds of the coordinators is required, that is, if socialists and liberals reject Fitto, the EPP will not give its support at this stage to either Teresa Ribera or the French candidate, Stephane Sejourné.
That is, there will be a contagion effect. The question is whether, in the event that the socialists finally go through the hoops and allow Fitto to be approved on the first try, the group led by Manfred Weber would be able to follow the instructions of their Spanish MEPs and trip up Ribera. Some sources see it as highly unlikely because it would be a declaration of war and a bad start for the European coalition, which has already started with tension due to the breaking of the cordon sanitaire on the extreme right by the EPP.
Some sources consider, however, that the change in the evaluation process (which would technically have to be held in a chain depending on when the exams ended) gives oxygen to socialists and liberals and makes it difficult for candidates to be used as “hostages.” .
However, the right is given the numbers for the Italian candidate to move forward without the need for socialists and liberals in a second stage in which only a simple majority of the MEPs present in the committees is required while the support of the EPP is essential for candidates from other political families. The trick that would then be left to socialists and liberals would be to vote against the entire College of Commissioners.
Rejecting Ribera also entails risks for the EPP itself if it decides to succumb to Feijóo’s pressure given that, in any case, it would be up to Pedro Sánchez’s Government to make another proposal if Von der Leyen accepts the recommendation of the European Parliament. If so, the process may be delayed beyond December 1. Von der Leyen’s intention is to start working “as soon as possible” due to the “complicated international situation” and the “large number of pending issues in Europe,” according to the spokesperson, Eric Mamer. It would also be a blow for Von der Leyen, who has placed Ribera in one of the most substantial portfolios in the future cabinet.
What happens if they suspend this Tuesday?
The candidates need the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the coordinators of the parliamentary committees of their powers (in the case of Ribera they are the Environment, Economy and Industry) in a first stage. If the candidates achieve two-thirds, as has happened with all the candidates who have already passed through the European Parliament – with the exception of the Hungarian Olivér Várhelyi, who is still in limbo and the decision has been postponed until Wednesday –, only the ratification in plenary session the last week of November of the College of Commissioners as a whole.
In the event that they do not obtain a sufficient majority in this phase, several options are open: asking them questions in writing and meeting again to make a decision or having to undergo a new, albeit shorter, interrogation. In the event that the candidates do not obtain two-thirds of the coordinators, the decision is adopted by all the MEPs of the committees by simple majority (more if it is that it’s not).
That is another of the tricks that the right plays with. Fitto has the simple majority of the Regional Development Commission with the EPP and the extreme right forces, while Ribera needs the support of the popular people to move forward in that circumstance as well. It remains to be seen how far the popular ones are willing to go and if the pressure from the Spanish delegation permeates. For the moment, what the head of the socialists, Iratxe García, has demanded is that the EPP does not put the Italian in the same bag as the Spanish woman who, in her case, belongs to one of the political families that are part of the European coalition.
Fitto: “I am not here to represent any party”
As soon as he began his speech before the European Parliament, the far-right candidate Giorgia Meloni to be part of the community government has launched a message to try to soften the rejection that a priori their political affiliation generates socialists and liberals.
“I want to be clear. I am not here to represent a political party. I am not here to represent a member state. “I am here today to reaffirm my commitment to Europe,” said Fitto.
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