If anyone has gone through the defense of a Final Degree Project they will know what the process is like; because the exams of the future European commissioners before Parliament it is quite similar. This Monday the calls begin hearingswhich will last for a week in the European Parliament and that will serve to put in the focus, for example, Teresa Riberachosen to be the vice president of Ecological Transition and Competition and who, like the rest, They will have to pass that test. A total of 26 ‘controls’some of them really demanding (like the Spanish one). How does the process work?
Depending on the portfolio, a commissioner-designate may be evaluated by a parliamentary committee (competent committee) or by more than one committee (mixed committees). Other committees may be invited to participate, meaning that they may contribute oral questions, while the final evaluation of the candidates falls to the coordinators of the competent committee(s). The hearings will be followed by meetings at which the president of the committee and the group representatives (coordinators) of the various committees will assess whether a Commissioner-designate is qualified both to be a member of the College and to carry out the specific functions assigned to him. assigned.
Not all audiences, however, will be the same. In fact, Teresa Ribera will face the most demanding of all, with up to eight parliamentary commissions present: three of them will be main ones (economy, environment and energy) and another five will attend their hearing as guests (employment, transport, agriculture, regional development and internal market and consumer protection). It is something that is caused by the transversality of the new European Commission, in which the Spanish will be the vice president in charge of the Ecological Transition and Competition; It has many ‘branches’ in some way under its control, so it will be looked at closely.
Eight other commissions will have to look at the tasks of Stephane Sejourné, who will be the vice-president of the industrial ‘part’ in the new Commission. That photo is a good preamble to what the Von der Leyen 2.0 Community Executive will be like, with two souls, the green one and the industrial one, that there will be a moment in which they collide. Some profiles that will also have high demands They will be the vice president of Digital Sovereignty, Henna Virkkunen; the new Defense Commissioner, Andrius Kubiliusor the person in charge of Expansion, Marta Kos.
For now, all of them – all 26 – have responded to the written questions, which serve as a basis for the hearing. After the hearings, the presidents of the commissions and the representatives of the political groups evaluate the candidates and prepare their evaluation letters. Commissioners-designate may be asked to respond to further questions in writing or invited to a new hearing. A Member State can withdrawremove an unselected Commissioner-designate and replace him with a new candidate in agreement with the President of the Commission. The new candidate also has to go through all the preparatory steps and a confirmation hearing in Parliament.
How is the voting? Simplifying it a lot, In a first step, a two-thirds majority would have to be given of support in the examination, by the main committees. If that does not happen, the European Parliament can request more information from the candidate, or convene the committees involved again. for a new hearing in which a simple majority vote would serve to approve the designated commissioner. This path was what Miguel Arias Cañete used in 2014 to end up as Commissioner for Agriculture in the Commission led by Jean Claude Juncker.
At the end of the process, the committees’ evaluation letters are examined by the Conference of Committee Presidents and transmitted to the Conference of Presidents, a body composed of the President and the leaders of the political groups of Parliament, who can get more information or declare confirmation hearings closed. The last step is for the European Parliament to vote on the Commission as a whole.
In this legislature there is an important nuance: The order of the hearings has been prepared in such a way that vetoes can be avoided crossed by ideological issues. It was one of the big complaints of S&D, because the pact between the EPP, with ECR and Patriotas, served to place the vice presidents at the end of the week, where the progressives risk their ‘strength’. In that way, the right would have the upper hand to respond to possible blockades that the left made with some of its options, as is the case of the Italian candidate, Raffaele Fitto, proposed by Meloni to be vice president, and who is not liked by the socialists, the greens or the left.
And the case of Teresa Ribera? It is important not only because it is evident for Spain, but also for the social democratic family. Your exam is the last, and It will be held on November 12 between 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. (almost all will last an average of three hours)and will coincide in parallel with that of the Finnish Hena Virkkunen, who is running to be the vice president of Digital Sovereignty. The Spanish woman added a total of 18 written questions about her chores, and it doesn’t seem like she’s going to have any problems passing, but S&D knows that she is their main asset (without her they would only have Energía in the hands, predictably, of the Dane Dan Jorgensen, and others two smaller portfolios). “Teresa cannot fall,” sources consulted by 20 minuteswho do not expect “any surprises when push comes to shove.” Other popular sources claim that theirs They will not be moved “by politicking” to evaluate the commissioners.
And yes, it is normal that not all commissioners pass the exam. Two of the most recent directly affected Romania and France. The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament blocked the candidacy of the Commissioner-designate responsible for Transport, Rovana Plumb, due to conflicts of interest with her asset declarations. The position ended up in the hands of Adina Valean, who did pass the exam. Sylvie Goulard, for her part, was involved in a fictitious contract scandal and She could not be Commissioner for the Internal Market because the European Parliament did not give her the green light. Finally the position fell to Thierry Breton.
In addition, a candidate can also be vetoed for not having the necessary knowledge about their portfolio. In 2010, the Bulgarian Rumiana Jeleva did not pass the European Parliament exam partly for this reason, because she could not demonstrate sufficient training to be in charge of the International Cooperation, Development Aid and Crisis Response portfolio, although she was also shocked by the fact that there were doubts about her financial declaration and suspicions that she could benefit from the aid that she herself will have to give. Furthermore, her husband worked at that time for a company denounced in the press for its connections with the Russian mafia. Beyond this, in 2004, The Italian candidate was dismissed for his homophobic and misogynistic commentswhile the Latvian candidate was removed after Parliament decided she had not done enough to explain past financial irregularities.
Will everyone pass the exam?
There are several names in the new European Commission likely to fail the test, although there may be an unwritten pact between political parties to avoid major crossed vetoes. However, he who The Hungarian candidate, Oliver Várhelyi, has the most votes to fall, who aspires to repeat in the Community Executive this time at the head of Animal Health and Welfare. There are serious doubts that he respects the role of Parliament – he insulted MEPs last term – and carries out his work in accordance with the rule of law. If it falls, it would be a new affront to the Government of Viktor Orbán, and would force it to propose an alternative. If it wanted to keep an eye on Brussels and it refused to do so, the Commission would start operating with one less commissioner, as provided for in the Treaties.
In conclusion, the hearings are the first moment of truth for the new European Commission, which could be confirmed the week of November 25 by the plenary session of Parliament in Strasbourg. Von der Leyen waits for the green lights for her 2.0 team to get goingif everything goes normally, starting December 1. The sooner the better, the German leader must think… because the EU has a lot to cut during the legislature that has just begun.
#hearings #exams #future #European #commissioners #pass.. #Ribera #focus
