Commissioners-designate face awkward test from MEPs

The 28 commissioners-designate are summoned to present their vision for the next five years to the European Parliament next week.

Delightful political theatre for many, but for the 28 candidates, it will be an ordeal. Expecting a stormy reception, candidates from Spain, Slovenia and Hungary, in particular, will be wary.

For new members of the Parliament (MEPs), the hearings are an opportunity to catch the eye and build a profile. Older members will see it as another chance to flex their muscles.

The hearings allow parliamentarians to examine the candidates’ plans and priorities in the future job. They will be quizzed on their knowledge of the brief they have been handed, and how they will deliver on the mandate given to them by Jean-Claude Juncker, the president-elect.

Juncker’s line-up has to be approved before the Commission can officially begin business on the 1st of November.

The new recalibrated structure

It is also likely that questions will be posed on the Commission’s new structure, in which seven ‘super commissioners’ will be given power over regular commissioners. The new pecking order, and the notion of commissioners happily subjecting themselves to this oversight, cannot fail to raise questions, given personalities involved. Among the new commissioners are four former prime ministers and five deputy prime ministers who are used to flexing their muscles.

“I have two concerns for the new structure,” said Philippe De Backer, a Belgian MEP. “One is from a psychological point of view. There are high-level people reporting up the chain of command. How will this work?

“Secondly, it’s going to be difficult for any Commissioner to navigate internally without having the backing of an administration. The vice-presidents don’t have directorates, so will they have sufficient backing?”

Vulnerabilities

More than one candidate has reason to feel uncomfortable at the prospect of a three hour interview.

For example, Slovenia’s Alenka Bratušek, the nominated head of Juncker’s high profile Energy Union dossier, may face questions about the manner in which she was nominated. High-profile Slovenian politicians, including the country’s current European Commissioner, Janez Potočnik, have criticised her for effectively nominating herself in July, after her Positive Slovenia party was defeated in a general election.

Any difficulty Bratušek faces will be amplified because she does not belong to one of the two big coalition partners in the European Parliament – the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) with 222 MEPs and the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) with 184 MEPs – whose strength, influence and votes would give her a stronger chance of survival. 

Although there are S&D candidates who may be ready to challenge Bratušek, Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of the liberal ALDE group and an influential MEP, intimated last week in Strasbourg that he would defend his fellow party colleague. “To criticise [Bratušek] because she [pursued] nominat[ion] seems to be a strange criticism,” he said.

Meanwhile, Spain’s Miguel Arias Cañete, is hobbled by sexist comments he has made in the past. In addition, he will need to explain how, as a former investor in oil companies, he is suitable for the climate change brief, which for many Green, far-left GUE, S&D and ALDE MEPs, has been crudely bolted onto the energy portfolio that Cañete was given. However, his membership of the EPP is seen as a major advantage.

His EPP colleague, Hungary’s Tibor Navracsics, due to take over at Education, Culture, Youth and Citizenship, is also likely to face hard questions from MEPs, who will be eager to hear his views on citizenship, education and culture, given the track record of Hungary’s current government.

The European Parliament has turned down several would-be commissioners in the past. In 2004, MEPs refused to endorse Italy’s Rocco Buttiglione, on the grounds of his views on homosexuality and women. Bulgarian nominee Rumiana Jeleva, who was in line for the humanitarian aid brief, was forced to step down in 2010, after failing to convince MEPs in her hearing.

Agenda

The hearings will take place from 29 September to 2 October and, on the afternoon of Monday 6 and the morning of Tuesday 7 October.
 
Schedule for hearings

• On Monday, 29 September, MEPs will interview Malta’s Karmenu Vella, Sweden’s Cecilia Malmström, Croatia’s Neven Mimica and Gemany’s Günther Oettinger.
• On Tuesday, 30 September, Portugal’s Carlos Moedas, Greece’s Dimitris Avramopoulos, Cyprus’ Christos Stylianides, Lithuania’s Vytenis Andriukaitis, Austria’s Johannes Hahn and Slovakia’s Maroš Šefčovič take their turn.
• On Wednesday, 1 October, Romania’s Corina Creţu, the UK’s Jonathan Hill, Hungary’s Tibor Navracsics, Belgium’s Marianne Thyssen, Czech Republic’s Věra Jourová and Spain's Miguel Arias Cañete are on the list.
• On Thursday, 2 October, France's Pierre Moscovici, Bulgaria’s Kristalina Georgieva, Denmark’s Margarethe Vestager, Ireland’s Phil Hogan and Poland’s Elżbieta Bieńkowska take the stage.
• On Monday, 6 October, Latvia’s Valdis Dombrovskis, Slovenia’s Alenka Bratušek and Italy’s Federica Mogheri will appear before MEPs.
• On Tuesday, 7 October, the two remaining hearings will be of Finland's Jyrki Katainen and Frans Timmemans from the Netherlands.

For several of hearings, more than one committee has requested at chance to take part. The European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) committee, for example, will attend six hearings.

MEPs have sent written questions to candidates. Each is expected to provide written replies before the hearings start on 29 September.

At the hearing, the commissioners-designate may make an opening statement, after which MEPs will pose questions. Each committee will then draw up an evaluation in private, to be sent to the President of Parliament, Martin Schulz.

The European Parliament will vote on whether or not to approve the full Commission on 22 October.