While Vladimir Putin does not stop its war against Ukraine and Donald Trump has begun to appoint his cabinet members and is rushing to make a 180-degree turn in American politics, The European Union is staring into the abyss of an institutional crisis unprecedented which has at its epicenter Therese Ribera.
The storm could even lead to the fall of the new Commission of Ursula von der Leyen before taking possession. The EU government remains in suspense until Ribera explains what he did to prevent and detect the floods that devastated the L’Horta Sud region, in Valencia, causing more than 200 deaths.
He European People’s Party (EPP) – the most important political family in the European Parliament and the European Council and on which everything that happens in Brussels depends – demands these clarifications as a precondition for the evaluation of Ribera’s candidacy for the post of executive vice-president of the Competition and Ecology Commission. Transition.
Ribera has already announced that he will appear in Congress on November 20. The number three of Pedro Sanchez She must also commit to resigning if she is prosecuted for her management of DANA, as EPP sources confirmed to EL ESPAÑOL.
The fulfillment of these two conditions does not necessarily mean that The result of the assessment will be positive and Ribera will be assured of passing the exam. These are prerequisites for continuing negotiations, explain the sources consulted.
In addition to its management of DANA, the EPP continues to have serious doubts about the Spaniard’s candidacy. “Bank did not recognize the sign of the times. He spoke as if there was no economic crisis, no war, no change of majority in the European Parliament. He did not indicate that he was really seeking the support of the largest group in the European Parliament,” explains the party’s Environment spokesperson. Peter Liese.
In the tense interrogation of Teresa Ribera in the European Parliament, the final question of the harsh intervention of Dolors Montserrat. “Do you agree to resign if you find yourself legally involved (in the management of DANA in Valencia) so as not to bring discredit to President Von der Leyen and the entire college of commissioners?” – he snapped. Despite the PP’s fierce opposition to her appointment, the party leader in Brussels assumed that she would eventually become vice-president of the Commission and at the same time set her conditions.
A signal which was confirmed when another MEP from the European People’s Party (EPP), the Italian Fulvio Martusciellohe repeated to number three of Pedro Sanchez the same question, almost word for word: “What will you do if you are accused of responsibility for what happened in Valencia?” Will he resign or not?“.
Feijóo sets the tone
During the blockade of Ribera, in recent days the EPP has followed to the letter and in a disciplined manner the political line and the arguments presented from Madrid by Alberto Nunez Feijoowho spoke personally on Monday with the group’s leader, the German Manfred Weberto set the position.
“We hope that Teresa Ribera answers all open questions about her responsibilities as a minister before the Spanish Parliament before seeking new responsibilities in Europe. We cannot afford to impose on the new Commission legal and political responsibilities arising from the previous executive position of a new commissioner,” Weber himself said.
European socialists, led by the Spanish Iratxe Garciavery close to Pedro Sanchez– They argue that, with their blocking of Teresa Ribera, the EPP broke the grand coalition agreement (popular, socialist, liberal and green) which allowed the re-election of Von der Leyen in July. It is for this reason that the socialists are threatening to overthrow the entire college of commissioners in the binding vote which will take place at the European Parliament in the last week of November. This would force the president to return to square one in the configuration of her new government.
“The leader of the EPP broke the political agreement of the pro-European democratic forces in the European Parliament in the name of the destructive program of the Spanish PP, which attempts making Teresa Ribera the scapegoat for its inability to manage the most catastrophic floods in recent European history”, denounced the socialists in a press release.
Faced with the total blockage of the European Parliament, Von der Leyen herself decided to take the reins of the negotiations and summoned Manfred Weber, Iratxe García and Valerie Hayer, the leader of the liberals, to her office. “It’s HER Commission, so she has a lot at stake”underline parliamentary sources. The president made it clear to political leaders that it is urgent for the European Union to get started in an international context as difficult as the current one.
His goal remains for his new government to take office on December 1. It is for this reason that Von der Leyen maintains his confidence in Ribera, as his spokesperson confirmed when interviewed by this newspaper. “Ribera is the one nominated by the Spanish authorities for the post of commissioner, the European Parliament has a hearing procedure which is still ongoing and the president has of course given his confidence to Ms Ribera and proposed her as commissioner”, he explained. .the spokesperson.
Does Von der Leyen maintain this confidence in Ribera after his management of DANA in Valencia, this newspaper asked him. “The president has given her confidence to all the candidates for the post of commissioner. The confirmation process is still ongoing. And obviously nothing has changed since that initial decision“replied the spokesperson.
No agreement emerged from the meeting called by Von der Leyen this Wednesdaybut the leaders of the political groups have committed to keeping all communication channels open in the hours and days to come.
The older ones have no doubt that whatever the current temperature, things will eventually calm down and the grand coalition will reach an agreement to save the Von der Leyen Commission. “They will negotiate and negotiate (as they did this Wednesday) and there will probably be a global agreement next week“, explains to this newspaper a senior official who has already worked at several institutions.
“Those who have climbed the most on the (tension) ladder will be those who will have to go down the most.», Adds another seasoned community diplomat with a long career. We should therefore not fear a black swan in Brussels: that the entire college of commissioners will fall during the vote in the last week of November? “Not at all,” replies the senior official without hesitation.
