After weeks of political battles, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled on Tuesday 17 September in Strasbourg the composition of her new team of commissioners and their portfolios, focused on Europe's competitiveness. The allocation of the portfolios of the 27 commissioners – one per Member State – is a key moment to launch the five-year mandate of this new Commission, the European executive.
The new team includes eleven women for sixteen men, a ratio of 40%, the German official announced on Tuesday at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.me Von der Leyen, who wanted parity in this team of 27 commissioners, explained that the initial proposals from the member states gave a share of 22% of women. “It was completely unacceptable”she stressed, while acknowledging that, despite the progress made in the final stretch, there was “still a lot of work to do”.
In an attempt to address the criticism, four of the Commission's six vice-presidencies are being held by women – Teresa Ribera of Spain, Henna Virkkunen of Finland, Kaja Kallas of Estonia and Roxana Mînzatu of Romania – while two men, Stéphane Séjourné of France and Raffaele Fitto of Italy, complete the picture.
The head of French diplomacy, Stéphane Séjourné, close to Emmanuel Macron, will therefore take over a key portfolio – industrial strategy – within the new European Commission. Chosen at the last minute to the detriment of the outgoing Thierry Breton, he will be responsible for the recovery of European industry, a major priority for the coming years. Mme Von der Leyen said she knew ” Alright “ Stéphane Séjourné and that she thinks he will be a ” big “ commissioner.
Spanish socialist Teresa Ribera, a climate specialist and minister under Pedro Sanchez, inherits a broad portfolio devoted to ecological transition and could play one of the leading roles in the new Brussels team. A sensitive subject, the Italian Raffaele Fitto, a member of Giorgia Meloni's far-right government, is in charge of cohesion and reforms. This role “confirms the central role regained by our country within the EU”welcomed M.me Meloni. The left and the centre had warned that they were opposed to it. Lithuanian Andrius Kubilius was appointed Commissioner for Defence and Space, a new position created by Ursula von der Leyen to deal with the Russian threat and the war in Ukraine.
Painful negotiations
Behind the scenes, negotiations for the positions were painful, right up until the last minute. On Monday, it was the influential outgoing French commissioner, Thierry Breton, who resigned with a bang, the victim of his execrable relations with Mr.me von der Leyen. To replace him, Emmanuel Macron had proposed a close friend, Stéphane Séjourné, the resigning Minister of Foreign Affairs. Paris was then hoping for a vice-presidency of the Commission and a broad portfolio dedicated to the “industrial and technological sovereignty and European competitiveness”.
The European Union must display its priorities, in a crucial period on the geopolitical level, with the war in Ukraine, the American presidential campaign and the economic competition from China.me Von der Leyen stressed the economy “competitive, circular and decarbonized”in the wake of Mario Draghi's recent report on the Union's economic difficulties. She mentioned three pillars for the next five years: “prosperity, security and democracy.”
Three months after European elections marked by the rise of the extreme right, the left and NGOs fear that the Commission's reorientation towards economic issues will be to the detriment of the climate ambitions of the previous mandate. “We must continue to take up this challenge of the fight against global warming”but “always in the context of competitiveness”replied M.me von der Leyen.
After this presentation of Ursula von der Leyen's team, the potential commissioners will have to pass hearings before MEPs and submit to a vote of approval, an institutional arm wrestling match with the Parliament, which often wants to mark its territory by rejecting certain candidates.
Several MEPs would like to bring down the Hungarian candidate, accused of not listening to the European Parliament and being too close to the positions of his country's prime minister, the nationalist Viktor Orban. As part of the Hungarian presidency of the EU, Mr Orban was due to speak in Strasbourg on Wednesday, but cancelled his visit due to the Boris storm currently affecting central Europe.
Source: Lemonde
