““Blocking Teresa Ribera would amount to blocking the entire new European Commission.”government sources claim to explain their conviction that the PP will not be able to veto the appointment of the third vice-president as right-hand man of the Ursula von der Leyen.
Ribera appears this Tuesday at European Parliament in what we call audience either examination of candidates to occupy positions within the new Commission. A lengthy appearance is expected with a multitude of questions and answers lasting less than three minutes from Ribera. The result will be known the next day with the possibility of re-questioning Ribera on any doubts that may have arisen, already in writing.
When Ribera’s candidacy, proposed by Ursula Von der Leyenthe PP has already assured that he will vote against and has hinted at issues such as an alleged conflict of interest with her husband Mariano Bacigalupothat He was previously a member of the National Markets and Competition Commission. (CNMC).
The Popular Party and Vox have also argued that Ribera is a “climate extremist”, seeking support from far-right Holocaust denial groups.
Now the PP’s argument has evolved towards the presumed responsibilities in the management of the disaster caused by DANA. The government assures that the Spanish PP put pressure on the European PP and the liberals of the parliamentary group of Renew to try to defeat Ribera.
Moncloa assures that this position of the PP is a decoy to escape the responsibilities of Carlos Mazon in the management of the crisis and his “inability to support a decision that is good for Spain, without falling into the temptation of using it to attack Sánchez”.
Talks
Sources close to the vice-president of Ecological Transition assure that it does not seem that the PP’s position will “contaminate” its European partners. They explain that the new Commission and, in particular, the important position attributed to Ribera, is the result of a complex network of negotiations between the European People’s Party and the social democrats in search of a balance in which the government of Georgia Meloni in Italy and canceling it now would amount to dismantling the entire future European executive.
Additionally, it includes the weight of Pedro Sanchez and Spain in Brussels. During the previous Commission, Spain only managed to place Joseph Borrell as High Commissioner for Foreign Policy, a non-executive and low-ranking position. Today, Spain aspires to a relevant position and Ribera enjoys notable prestige in Europe on climate issues and also on energy issues, on which he has made progress in negotiations such as The Iberian exception like and energy prices.
The vice-president’s team believes that “her review will focus on high-impact issues in Europe: Trump, the auto industry, China, energy prices, big mergers, Google, Apple, etc. “
Ribera hopes that within three or four hours of the exam only the Spanish PP and Vox will ask questions about DANA. The others seem interested in “the major strategic issues it will affect the lives of Europeans, fundamentally how decarbonization is driving reindustrialization in Europe.
Ribera has been preparing for several months for this Tuesday’s appearance and the questions on which he would have the power to decide. “She worked in preparation with the general management of all areas within her competence: competition, energy, environment or climate,” they specify in their environment.
Ribera topped the list of PSOE in the European electionsbut she resigned her seat to continue as third vice-president of the government, while waiting to be able to be European commissioner.
