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ΔιαχειριστήςAdmin- Αριθμός μηνυμάτων : 26116
Ημερομηνία εγγραφής : 29/10/2010 
Gimme, gimme, gimme (a strong portfolio)
26/7/2024, 11:10
By Jorge Liboreiro
If you’re looking to secure a weighty, high-ranking portfolio in the next European Commission that can boost your country’s profile and give you an upper hand in the intricate decision-making process of Brussels – well, get in line.
Nowadays, it seems you’re nobody if you don’t have exactly that demand.
Reminder: to set up a new Commission, each member state selects a candidate, who’s first assigned a portfolio by the president-elect (in this case, Ursula von der Leyen) and then goes through a confirmation hearing in the European Parliament. Once all candidates receive the blessing from MEPs (some might fall along the way), the 27 members face a confirmation vote as a College.
By all accounts, it’s a tricky exercise: von der Leyen has to juggle nationalities and political parties, ensuring a fair distribution, a functional structure and, ideally, gender balance. As she did in 2019, the president has asked capitals to propose two names – male and female – so she can have the option to reject one in favour of the other and guarantee men and women are represented justly in the EU’s most powerful institution.
“I want to pick the best-prepared candidates who share the European commitment,” she said last week. “Once again, I will aim for an equal share of men and women at the College table.”
This mission is already in troubled waters.
Since the June elections re-started the clock on the political cycle, EU leaders have gradually come forward with their hand-picked representatives for the next Commission. Czechia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden are among the governments who have announced a nominee – in singular – without any care for the male-female duo demanded by von der Leyen. What’s more, in the majority of cases, the lucky one has been a man.
Equally remarkable is the fact that member states, even those who haven’t proposed a name, have made little to no effort to hide their ambitions: they want as much power as possible. The Dutch prime minister has pitched incumbent Wopke Hoekstra as a “strong candidate for a substantial portfolio.” His Czech counterpart, Peter Fiala, is aiming for a “strong portfolio, preferably an economic one,” and so is Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, whose standing in Brussels is in doubt after voting against von der Leyen. Spain’s pick, Teresa Ribera, has set her sights on a super-portfolio that would combine climate, energy and environmental policy (no such thing exists now), while Emmanuel Macron wants to re-appoint Thierry Breton, who has made a name for himself handling the Internal Market, to expand France’s influence.
It’s all fun and games – until the dream meets reality.
It’s logistically impossible for von der Leyen to give all 27 countries a strong portfolio simply because that’s not how the Commission works. The executive has a wide array of competences, ranging from competition rules and commercial policy, which are exclusive and highly consequential, to migration, public health, consumer protection, research and culture. This means that portfolios vary significantly in legislative powers, political relevance and media visibility, as you can clearly see when you browse through the current College composition.
Von der Leyen has floated some new ideas for Commissioners – housing, defence, Mediterranean, intergenerational fairness – to address a larger range of issues in her second mandate. These titles can serve as alternatives for member states: most capitals are lobbying for economic portfolios due to the increased importance of the topic of competitiveness. However, it’s unclear how far a Commissioner for housing, a field where the EU lacks competences and money, will go in practice. The same question can be raised for the nice-sounding, precedent-breaking Commissioner for defence, a position that might be heading for a clash with the tasks traditionally assigned to the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, soon to be Kaja Kallas.
Ultimately, the decision on how to structure the Commission rests with von der Leyen. There’s no deal on top jobs anymore, no more haggling between EU leaders until midnight. It’s up to the president to establish the executive with which she will work for the next five years. Von der Leyen is an ambitious politician: first and foremost, she will be looking for qualified, hard-working, reliable candidates who can push her agenda forward – without stealing her spotlight.
If you’re looking to secure a weighty, high-ranking portfolio in the next European Commission that can boost your country’s profile and give you an upper hand in the intricate decision-making process of Brussels – well, get in line.
Nowadays, it seems you’re nobody if you don’t have exactly that demand.
Reminder: to set up a new Commission, each member state selects a candidate, who’s first assigned a portfolio by the president-elect (in this case, Ursula von der Leyen) and then goes through a confirmation hearing in the European Parliament. Once all candidates receive the blessing from MEPs (some might fall along the way), the 27 members face a confirmation vote as a College.
By all accounts, it’s a tricky exercise: von der Leyen has to juggle nationalities and political parties, ensuring a fair distribution, a functional structure and, ideally, gender balance. As she did in 2019, the president has asked capitals to propose two names – male and female – so she can have the option to reject one in favour of the other and guarantee men and women are represented justly in the EU’s most powerful institution.
“I want to pick the best-prepared candidates who share the European commitment,” she said last week. “Once again, I will aim for an equal share of men and women at the College table.”
This mission is already in troubled waters.
Since the June elections re-started the clock on the political cycle, EU leaders have gradually come forward with their hand-picked representatives for the next Commission. Czechia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden are among the governments who have announced a nominee – in singular – without any care for the male-female duo demanded by von der Leyen. What’s more, in the majority of cases, the lucky one has been a man.
Equally remarkable is the fact that member states, even those who haven’t proposed a name, have made little to no effort to hide their ambitions: they want as much power as possible. The Dutch prime minister has pitched incumbent Wopke Hoekstra as a “strong candidate for a substantial portfolio.” His Czech counterpart, Peter Fiala, is aiming for a “strong portfolio, preferably an economic one,” and so is Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, whose standing in Brussels is in doubt after voting against von der Leyen. Spain’s pick, Teresa Ribera, has set her sights on a super-portfolio that would combine climate, energy and environmental policy (no such thing exists now), while Emmanuel Macron wants to re-appoint Thierry Breton, who has made a name for himself handling the Internal Market, to expand France’s influence.
It’s all fun and games – until the dream meets reality.
It’s logistically impossible for von der Leyen to give all 27 countries a strong portfolio simply because that’s not how the Commission works. The executive has a wide array of competences, ranging from competition rules and commercial policy, which are exclusive and highly consequential, to migration, public health, consumer protection, research and culture. This means that portfolios vary significantly in legislative powers, political relevance and media visibility, as you can clearly see when you browse through the current College composition.
Von der Leyen has floated some new ideas for Commissioners – housing, defence, Mediterranean, intergenerational fairness – to address a larger range of issues in her second mandate. These titles can serve as alternatives for member states: most capitals are lobbying for economic portfolios due to the increased importance of the topic of competitiveness. However, it’s unclear how far a Commissioner for housing, a field where the EU lacks competences and money, will go in practice. The same question can be raised for the nice-sounding, precedent-breaking Commissioner for defence, a position that might be heading for a clash with the tasks traditionally assigned to the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, soon to be Kaja Kallas.
Ultimately, the decision on how to structure the Commission rests with von der Leyen. There’s no deal on top jobs anymore, no more haggling between EU leaders until midnight. It’s up to the president to establish the executive with which she will work for the next five years. Von der Leyen is an ambitious politician: first and foremost, she will be looking for qualified, hard-working, reliable candidates who can push her agenda forward – without stealing her spotlight.
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