Who will really command in the new von der Leyen Commission
Analysis of the composition and delegations in the new European Commission. Extract from the Mattinale Europeo newsletter
Ursula von der Leyen presented her new Commission yesterday and the political summary can be summed up in one sentence: full powers to Ursula and the European People's Party (EPP). At least this is the suspicion that emerges after the president revealed the names of six executive vice-presidents and twenty ordinary commissioners, the responsibilities and their portfolios, which overlap, without a real chain of command: in the end it will always be von der Leyen who make the decisions that matter, supported by her core team of advisors within her cabinet. Thierry Breton's exit has emptied the college of counterweights.
WHO IS NUMBER TWO ON THE COMMISSION BUT THE SOCIALISTS CAN'T REJOICE
The new strongwoman who could stand up to von der Leyen is the Spanish socialist Teresa Ribera , but she has been surrounded by EPP commissioners who will manage the relevant directorates-general of the different sectors of the climate transition. A sentence contained in all the commissioners' mission letters is illustrative: "You will work under my guidance on all the topics mentioned above", wrote the president. The success of the Ursula Commission will depend on von der Leyen.
THE WORDS OF VON DER LEYEN
Presenting his team before the press, von der Leyen sought to project the image of a new beginning on the way the Commission works. “As the treaty says, every member of the college is equal and every commissioner has the same responsibility to deliver on our priorities. This means that all commissioners must work together,” the president said. The Commission's structure is "streamlined, more interactive and interconnected". Von der Leyen claimed to have freed herself from the old single-issue "silos" to have "more fluid" governance and "more coordination of policies", as suggested by Mario Draghi's report. “The architecture of the Commission is well thought out,” a diplomat from a large member state told us.
THE STRATEGIC COMMISSIONERS UNDER VON DER LEYEN
But, beyond the form, there is the substance, the practice and the people. In her first mandate, von der Leyen reserved the final ruling on the most politically sensitive issues for herself, imposing herself on the rest of the college. The president has established that two commissioners with strategic responsibilities – the Slovakian Maros Sefcovic for Trade and the Latvian Valdis Dombrovskis for Economic Affairs – will work directly under her, without having to undergo the tutelage of an executive vice president. Conflicts between vice presidents risk becoming the norm. “The mission letters of Ribera and Stéphan Séjourné (French vice-president for prosperity and industrial strategy) complement each other. The two have the mandate to implement Draghi's recommendations. But if they don't work together, it won't work,” the diplomat explained to us.
RIBERA'S ROLE
In the new Commission Teresa Ribera is effectively von der Leyen's new "number two". In addition to the climate transition, the Spaniard obtained the key portfolio of the Competition, becoming the new Margrethe Vestager. However, the socialists (and the greens) would do well not to claim victory. Ribera was surrounded by a group of EPP commissioners who will have direct management of the portfolios and general directorates on which the Green deal depends: the Dutch Wopke Hoekstra at Climate, the Swede Jessika Roswall at Environment, the Luxembourg Christophe Hansen at 'Agriculture, the Greek Apostolos Tzitzikostas to Transport.
WHO WILL BE NUMBER THREE IN THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
The "number three" of the Commission will be the Finnish Henna Virkkunen. She is also from the EPP. Von der Leyen has decided to put technological sovereignty, security and democracy in her hands, taking away the competences on strategic autonomy and European sovereignty on digital and defense from the "number four" of the Commission. Stéphan Séjourné, despite the title of vice-president, finds himself with a smaller portfolio than Breton . The Frenchman will only deal with the new industrial strategy (including decarbonisation), the European Competitiveness Fund and the single market. Séjourné will also have a supervisory role in the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact. But the actual implementation and control of the Directorate General for Economy and Finance is entrusted to the Latvian Dombrovskis, another member of the EPP.
THE EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENTS
The other executive vice-presidents are the Estonian liberal Kaja Kallas (a post entrusted directly by the treaty as High Representative for Foreign Policy), the Romanian socialist Roxana Minzatu (to whom von der Leyen entrusted social rights as a reward after his government changed a male commissioner with a woman) and the Italian sovereignist Raffaele Fitto (the president of the Commission justified herself with the fact that Italy is a founding country and the Ecr group has two vice-presidents in the European Parliament and entrusted him with the portfolio less than Cohesion). The EPP considers Fitto as a potential prodigal son, given that before joining Giorgia Meloni's party he had been a member of Forza Italia.
THE ROLE OF THE EPP
The EPP maintains the Budget with the Polish Piotr Serafin, who will report directly to the president and will have to prepare the new financial framework 2028-35. Furthermore, the EPP conquers the portfolio of Internal Affairs and Migration, which von der Leyen handed over to the Austrian Magnus Brunner, and that of Justice and the rule of law, entrusted to the Irishman Michael McGrath. The agreements with the transit countries of migrants will be entrusted to the Croatian Dubravka Suica, new commissioner for the Mediterranean, also from the EPP. She will be the one to manage the external aspects of migration policies, against Kallas if von der Leyen needs it. At least Kallas should get along with Lithuanian EPP member Andrius Kubilius , who got the Defense and Space industry portfolio.
(Excerpt from Mattinale Europeo )
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/primo-piano/chi-comandera-davvero-nella-nuova-commissione-von-der-leyen/ on Wed, 18 Sep 2024 05:45:46 +0000.