The hearings of the candidate commissioners of the second Commission of the Ursula von der Leyenwhich are expected to be completed on November 12. Among the commissioners who will be heard on the very first day, this Monday, is the proposed Greek Commissioner for Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzizikostas. The goal is for the new Commission to take office on December 1st.
The procedure stipulates that each commissioner chosen by the President of the Commission will appear before the competent parliamentary committee (or committees) depending on the portfolio he is intended to assume. These hearings will have a maximum duration of three hours each. After the completion of the hearings, the members of the European Parliament’s committees will have to agree with a two-thirds majority on the appointment of each candidate, while it is not excluded that clarifying written questions will need to be asked or a second hearing will be held.
It is recalled that during the nomination process of the previous Committee, in 2019, the French Sylvie Goulardcandidate for Commissioner for the Internal Market, failed to get the support of MEPs. But it is not a unique case. Since 2004, the European Parliament has rejected at least one candidate in every process of appointing a new Commission. In particular, a total of seven candidate commissioners in the last 20 years failed to be elected to the office for which they were nominated. In this case, the member state from which the commissioner who was “cut off” by the MEPs comes from proposes a new person in his place.
Candidates who are “at risk”
As for the proposed College of Commissioners, which will suffer the pain of hearings starting tomorrow, four names are being discussed in the corridors of Brussels which may face a problem with their election. First of all, that of Hungary Oliver VarchelliCommissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement in the outgoing Commission, who is this time nominated for the Health and Animal Welfare portfolio. In addition to his ardent support for the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbanwho has long been a “red flag” for Brussels, Varkheli’s tenure in his current position is characterized as controversial to say the least.
As Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Varghelli faced criticism for his positive attitude towards candidate countries which repeatedly violated the principles of the rule of law and the smooth functioning of democracy. On top of that, 2023 had called a number of MEPs “idiots” during a debate on the Western Balkans. The non-election of Varkheli, however, is likely to create a bigger problem in the emergence of the new Commission, as there is concern that it would lead to a situation of “hostage” of the Commission by Viktor Orbán, who will not propose a replacement. Even so, Varchelli remains the candidate with the best chance of not being elected.
Another case for which there are likely to be objections is that of the Belgian foreign minister, Haja Labibwhich is proposed for the Humanitarian Aid, Crisis Management and Equality portfolio. The main cause of objections is her Russian-funded trip to occupied Crimea in 2021, when she was still working as a journalist. In an interview after the trip, Labib was asked if she had returned from Ukraine or Russia and she replied: “You need a Russian visa to land at Sevastopol airport.”
It is not excluded that the “elect” of the Italian prime minister will also face a problem with his election Georgia Meloni, Rafael Fito. The Italian politician, who is being nominated for the role of executive vice-president for Cohesion and Reforms, is the only member of the new Commission to have been nominated by the far-right Eurogroup European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). For this reason she is likely to be outvoted by the Socialists, Greens and Liberals, who see Meloni as a dangerous ultra-conservative leader who wants to make her far-right positions more widely accepted.
In addition, and Martha Kos from Slovenia, which is proposed for the Enlargement portfolio, is expected to have a difficult time during her hearing as she will have to answer questions about her past. Kos resigned as Slovenia’s ambassador to Germany and Switzerland in 2020 following allegations of mismanagement and her relationship with one of the world’s largest lobbying firms, Kreab, for which she previously worked. it will not go unnoticed.
Regarding the proposed Greek Commissioner for Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, although the strong disagreement he had expressed on the Prespa Agreement, which resolved one of the very important issues between the EU and the accession candidate North Macedonia, is causing reactions, although the fact that he comes from the European People’s Party (EPP), the biggest force in the European Parliament, gives him a relative security in terms of his election.
Von der Leyen’s promises
At the same time, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is called upon to fulfill as soon as possible the promises she made during the difficult period of negotiations for her re-election last July. Faced with a difficult equation, she made a slew of promises mainly to the Socialists and the Greens in return for their support, which gave her a relatively comfortable majority.
However, even before the new Commission assumes its duties, significant doubts are raised as to whether it will be able to fulfill them. Both the absence of a comprehensive plan for the housing crisis and the overly ambitious goals of the new Clean Industrial Deal, which von der Leyen has pledged to advance within the first 100 days of the new Commission, have fueled the debate. These doubts are expected to intensify even more if the scenario of delaying the ban on the sale of internal combustion vehicles in the EU, set for 2035 and pushed for by car manufacturers, comes to fruition.
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