Ursula von der Leyen has made a nod to the far-right Giorgia Meloni by placing her candidate for vice-president of the new European Commission, which will have a far-right representative in the post for the first time. The president made this decision despite warnings against it from the socialists and liberals, who support her majority – which the Greens joined in her re-election. During the re-election process, Von der Leyen maintained contact with the Italian prime minister, who abstained from the leaders’ decision as a sign of a possible later agreement, although in the European Parliament, Fratelli d’Italia claimed to have voted against it.
The publications on Von der Leyen’s intention to give Italy a vice-presidency with powers in the field of economy (which was the portfolio that the country had in previous mandates with the socialist commissioners Paolo Gentiloni and Pierre Moscovici) triggered the alarm of the socialists (S&D) and the liberals (Renew Europe). Finally, the German chose to place it in an executive vice-presidency in charge of cohesion and reforms.
“Italy is a very important country and one of our founding members and this must also be reflected in the elections,” justified von der Leyen, who also mentioned the representation of two vice-presidencies of the far-right ECR group in the European Parliament, where the European People’s Party does not apply the cordon sanitaire. “I think that learning from the composition of the European Parliament and deducing them from the composition of the Commission is a smart way forward. The importance of Italy is reflected in the portfolio and in the executive vice-president, and I think that the balance is also very well maintained,” he defended at a press conference during which he assured, however, that the decisions of the European Commission are collegial.
For the first time a far-right vice-president
The rest of the executive vice-presidencies are assigned to the political families that support von der Leyen in the European Parliament. Teresa Ribera, representing the largest socialist country (Germany is represented by von der Leyen), will be vice-president for clean and fair transition and competition, a very relevant position; and the Romanian Roxana Mînzatu will be vice-president for people, capabilities and preparedness. On behalf of the EPP, in addition to the president, there is Henna Virkkunen (Technological sovereignty, security and democracy). And the liberals will be represented by the high representative Kaja Kallas and the Frenchman Stéphane Séjourné, appointed at the last moment by Emmanuel Macron and tasked with forming a right-wing government, despite the victory of the Popular Front.
The Socialists and Liberals rebelled against the nomination of Italian Raffaele Fitto as vice-president and made this known to Von der Leyen before she finally announced her cabinet. “This is something that creates problems for us, I am not going to deny it,” said S&D spokesperson Iratxe García, who also regretted that European candidate Nicolas Schmit would not repeat himself in the European Commission, but Luxembourg made another proposal.
What is not clear is what the Socialists and Liberals will do when they vote for Fitto. The candidates must pass the European Parliament’s examination in the corresponding committees. It is normal for the European Parliament to overturn some candidates (in the previous legislature this happened with the candidates from France and Hungary for different reasons), but the balance is complicated because the Socialists and Liberals also need the EPP so that the names of their political family get ahead. In addition, the College of Commissioners is voted on as a whole once the individual examinations have been passed.
A Right-wing Commission
“At the hearing, Fitto will have to demonstrate his capacity, his knowledge and his commitment to European values,” said García, who regretted that the ECR group had a vice-presidency. “It is early to take a position on this issue, but it is a problematic element for us, but we will do our job to see what commitments this commissioner has,” added the PSOE MEP, who raised issues such as “equality” or “diversity.”
García admitted that the European Commission has “lights and shadows”, although he celebrated the roles that the socialists will play (to start with, two vice-presidencies) and the housing portfolio, which they had demanded be created when negotiating Von der Leyen’s re-election in July. In any case, the social democrats will see their weight diminish within the government as a whole, where they will only have four positions (Spain, Romania, Malta and Denmark).
The victory of conservative forces in recent years in Europe will mean a polarisation to the right of the European Commission, which will have 15 representatives of the EPP, including Von der Leyen herself. The Netherlands, where the far-right Geert Wilders governs, has instead retained the conservative Wopke Hoekstra, who will lead the Climate portfolio. With this decision, Von der Leyen has sought to balance what has been one of the great battles of recent months following the protests of sectors such as farmers against the green agenda. Ribera will therefore have to negotiate with a conservative commissioner within the framework of the European Green Deal.
40% female presence
Von der Leyen also gave one of the most sensitive portfolios (migration) to a member of her party, the Austrian Magnus Brunner, a member of one of the governments with the toughest positions on immigration. But the Hungarian Commissioner Oliver Várhelyi, who retains the portfolio of Health (national competence) and Animal Welfare, was relegated to the background. This appointment made journalists laugh in the press room.
The EU right is not only reflected in the EU government. This has also happened in the European Parliament, where everything now goes through the European People’s Party, which has the ability to tip the balance by making deals with forces on its left or far right. This role was played by the liberals in the last term.
What von der Leyen has achieved is to improve parity compared to the initial proposals made to her by the Member States. In the end, there will be eleven women who will represent 40% of the total composition of the government, compared to 22% with the appointments made by the governments.
