Teresa Ribera is examined this Tuesday in the European Parliament, which must approve her appointment as vice-president of competition and just and clean transition of the new European Commission. Beyond the obstacles that the PP of Alberto Núñez Feijóo puts in his way, which maneuvers to try to convince his European family to, at least, make his task difficult, the great problem of the socialist leader is called Raffaele, the Italian far-right candidate Giorgia Meloni.
The hearings of the vice-presidents of the European Commission have become a sort of trading card exchange between the different political families. The socialists and liberals – who together with the European People’s Party form the coalition that supports Ursula von der Leyen – do not at all like the appointment of Fitto as executive vice-president. The German decision places the far right in this position for the first time when Meloni did not even support his nomination and the Fratelli d’Italia did not vote for it 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 – as part of an agreement between the EPP and far-right forces – that Fitto would be the first to be assessed. In this way, the social democrats and liberals would have to decide whether they supported him, despite their reluctance, or whether they rejected him, assuming a chain reaction that would affect Ribera and also the French candidate Stéphane Séjourné. Monday evening, the three major political families agreed that the evaluations of the six vice-presidents would be carried out at the same time, once all the hearings were completed. What is unclear is whether the decision will be made Tuesday evening or whether it will be postponed until Wednesday.
The EPP defends Fitto as one of its own: he belonged to Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia before joining Meloni’s far right. In fact, the popular Europeans agreed with the ultra forces on the schedule of the hearings to leave the vice-presidents in last place against the criteria of the socialists and liberals, who advocated that they be the first to go by the European Parliament to minimize risks. . that the rejection of any candidate could be used by the groups to punish the “heavyweights”.
The PP wants to see Ribera suffer
Despite the agreement that the evaluations will be carried out en bloc, it is obvious that they will be interconnected in this first phase where the support of two thirds of the coordinators is required, that is to say if the socialists and liberals reject Fitto. , the EPP will not support Teresa Ribera or the French candidate Stéphane Séjourné.
In other words, there will be a contagion effect. The question is whether, in the event that the Socialists finally take the plunge and allow Fitto to be approved on the first try, the group led by Manfred Weber would be able to follow the instructions of its Spanish MEPs and trip up Ribera . Some sources consider this very unlikely because it would be a declaration of war and a bad start for the European coalition, which has already started in tensions due to the breaking of the sanitary cordon on the far right by the EPP.
Some sources believe, however, that the change in the evaluation process (which should technically take place in a chain depending on the end date of the exams) gives oxygen to socialists and liberals and makes it difficult to use candidates as ” hostages.” » .
However, the right has the necessary numbers for the Italian candidate to advance without needing the Socialists and Liberals in a second stage where only a simple majority of deputies 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 the socialists and liberals would be to vote against the entire College of Commissioners.
Ribera’s rejection also carries risks for the EPP itself if it decides to give in 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 accepted the recommendation of the European Parliament. If this is the case, the process could be delayed beyond December 1. Von der Leyen’s intention is to start work “as soon as possible” due to the “complicated international situation” and the “large number of outstanding issues in Europe”, according to spokesperson Eric Mamer. It would also be a blow for Von der Leyen, who has placed Ribera in one of the most important portfolios of the future government.
What happens if they suspend this Tuesday?
The candidates first need the affirmative vote of two thirds of the coordinators of the parliamentary committees of their competence (in the case of Ribera, this is Environment, Economy and Industry). If the candidates obtain two thirds, as has been the case for all the candidates already passed by the European Parliament – with the exception of the Hungarian Olivér Várhelyi, who is still in limbo and whose decision has been postponed until Wednesday – , only the ratification in plenary session the last week of November of the entire College of Commissioners.
In the event that they do not obtain a sufficient majority in this phase, several options are available to them: ask them questions in writing and meet again to make a decision or have to submit to a new interrogation, although more short. In the event that the candidates do not obtain two thirds of the coordinators, the decision is adopted by all MEPs of the committees by simple majority (more if it is that it’s not).
This is another one of the tricks the right plays. Fitto has a simple majority in the Regional Development Commission with the EPP and far-right forces, while Ribera also needs the support of the people to move forward in these circumstances. It remains to be seen how far the people are prepared to go and whether the pressure from the Spanish delegation is felt. For now, what the leader of the Socialists, Iratxe García, has demanded is that the EPP does not put the Italian in the same bag as the Spaniard who, in her case, belongs to one of the political families who are part of the European coalition.
Fitto: “I am not here to represent any party”
From the start of her speech to the European Parliament, far-right candidate Giorgia Meloni to be part of the community government launched a message to try to mitigate 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 this member. “I am here today to reaffirm my commitment to Europe,” Fitto said.
