Why EU leaders should fear the Parliament’s fury

Follow the movers, shakers, and deal-makers in a post-election Europe.
By MAX GRIERA
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Hello! After a break during which I visited the Catalan, Danish, and U.K. parliaments (hey, we all have hobbies); got to cover Carles Puigdemont’s disappearing act; fanboyed over Borgen; and learned about the bizarre traditions during the opening of parliament in London, I am back to bring you the latest on the EU’s institutional transition and, in this edition, to look forward to what the commissioner hopefuls can expect from the Parliament hearings.
Which names are on the line? What are the key quarrels to watch out for? Let’s dig in.
Now that we are all coming back, do reach out for a coffee or a stroll!
REALITY CHECK LOOMS: The hearings, expected to start in late September/the very beginning of October, provide the European Parliament with a chance to fully exercise its power, as MEPs can vote down commissioner nominees put forward by EU countries’ heads of state and government.
ICYMI: As Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen’s deadline for nominations elapses on August 30, there are so far 22 confirmed names, with Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Italy and Portugal missing. Check them all out here.
Growing grievances: While Parliament is still on official recess until the beginning of September — and many lawmakers have completely disconnected from public life — and while the nominee list is still incomplete, voices have started to be raised against some of the commissioner picks.
Not shy to use its power: The Parliament has brought down nominees during every mandate since 2007. “This is also an inter-institutional power play, and the Parliament is keen to flex its muscles: the power of the EP over the Commission is generally the greatest before the Commission takes office,” Sophia Russack, researcher at the institutions unit of the Centre for European Policy Studies, said.
Disclaimer: While some grievances are coming to the fore, it is too early to tell which commissioners are really on the line, because we don’t yet have the portfolios each nominee will get, which also means we don’t know which EP committees will grill which commissioner hopefuls.
PREPARE THE FLAK JACKET: It is not a secret that current Hungarian commissioner Olivér Várhelyi, renominated by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, will surely face a very difficult time in the hearings. Várhelyi has served as Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement since 2019, at times facing criticism from Brussels officials over his handling of the portfolio and approach to candidate countries with rule of law and democracy concerns. Oh, and in 2023, he called MEPs “idiots.” If MEPs say no to another term, it would be the first time the Parliament has brought down a returning commissioner.
What MEPs say: “Várhelyi for sure [will be voted down], as he has acted more as Orbán’s representative than as an impartial and independent commissioner in his first term,” Renew Europe MEP Sandro Gozi told me. Similarly, Austrian Socialist Andreas Schieder argued that Várhelyi “has been the most disappointing” of all commissioners because he has “behaved disrespectfully towards MEPs,” and has hampered the EU enlargement process, affecting the bloc’s image and contributed to a “loss of trust in the Western Balkans.”
Does Budapest have a plan B? If Várhelyi is rejected by the Parliament, independent media in Hungary are already speculating that Orbán already has a Plan B (as reported in Brussels Playbook). Her name is Enikő Győri, a Fidesz MEP, according to Telex and 24.hu.
THE YOUNGSTER. Aged 34, Malta’s pick Glenn Micallef raised eyebrows among members of his own Labour Party because of his lack of experience, especially given the long-standing convention that capitals send former government ministers to Brussels, Brussels Playbook reported. That said, Micallef does have experience as chief of staff to Prime Minister Robert Abela and has Brussels experience, having led Malta’s EU coordination department.
Portfolio knowledge is key. While he does have EU experience, it all comes down to whether Micallef is knowledgeable enough to deal with the portfolio he is assigned by von der Leyen (and we don’t know what that will be). In 2009, the Parliament rejected Bulgaria’s Rumiana Jeleva over her lack of experience in the humanitarian aid portfolio she had been assigned (as well as concerns about her business interests). In 2014, Slovenia’s Alenka Bratušek, nominee for Commission vice-president for the energy union, was brought down after a disastrous hearing that cast doubt on her expertise.
Could his age save him?  “If the [Commission] president’s policy is intergenerational fairness, without Glenn the average age [of the next College] would be 55 and the policy would have been reduced to 0,” a Maltese diplomat, granted anonymity to speak freely, told POLITICO. Von der Leyen included intergenerational fairness in her political guidelines. The Maltese diplomat also argued that Micallef is an “expert on Council affairs,” as he has attended 52 EUCO meetings and directed the government’s position based on discussions in Coreper (meetings of ambassadors/deputy ambassadors).
THE ANTI-NUCLEAR HAWK: Spain’s pick to succeed Frans Timmermans at the helm of the EU’s Green agenda, Socialist Deputy Prime Minister Teresa Ribera, will face hard questions from cross-party nuclear energy defenders on whether she would hamper a nuclear resurgence to accompany the bloc’s energy transition, as she is a hardliner nuclear skeptic, our Victor Jack reported.
But it’s not only about nuclear: The EU’s Green Deal was at the center of the EU election campaign, with parties on the right and left fighting over whether to boost EU regulation or hit the brakes (or even backtrack on certain laws). If Ribera does indeed get the green portfolio, expect a major discussion about her intentions.
THE GREEK HARDLINER: Greece’s nominee Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the three-term governor of the region of Central Macedonia, will face a tough hearing as he will need to explain his his “cozying to [the] extreme right,” Slovakia’s Martin Hojsík, a member of Renew Europe and a Parliament VP, told me.
What he stands for: Tzitzikostas is considered a hardliner on domestic politics and national identity and has been accused of being too close to the far right, my colleague Nektaria Stamouli reported. Back in 2013, Tzitzikostas invited the now-defunct, neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party to a public holiday parade in Thessaloniki. In 2016, at the height of Europe’s migration crisis, Tzitzikostas abstained from the signing ceremony of a cooperation agreement between Thessaloniki and the UNHCR to improve conditions for asylum seekers. After June’s European election, Greek media suggested he might defect and create a new party, forming a “League of the North” that could galvanize the fringe vote on the right.
Extra attention paid to the far-right: “If a commissioner candidate is not a match we will reject her or him. This counts for all candidates but history has shown that it’s particularly the corrupt and the far right governments who are trying to send problematic candidates to Brussels,” Green German lawmaker Daniel Freund told POLITICO.
THE FRENCH TROUBLEMAKER: France’s pick, incumbent commissioner for the internal market Thierry Breton, will also likely face tough questions, especially given his social media quarrels with Ursula von der Leyen and, most recently, Elon Musk and Donald Trump, all of which painfully backfired on him.
BREWING: While the aforementioned commissioners should start carefully preparing for their hearings, others could also be on the line as the Parliament has many more grievances it wants to air.
“Men should fear more than women,” a high-ranking European Parliament official told POLITICO, as the current nominee list is miles away from being gender-balanced, something that von der Leyen and the Parliament want. So far, there are only six women (including von der Leyen) compared to 16 men, as reported by our Eddy Wax. “The ‘weak’ male candidates will have a hard time in the European Parliament and many will likely get turned down,” Austrian Socialist MEP Andreas Schieder told me.
Politicking: Commissioner hearings often fall victim to political games played among parliamentary groups. In 2019, French liberal pick Sylvie Goulard was brought down after heavy opposition from the center-right European People’s Party (EPP), in what was widely believed to be retaliation for the liberal group bringing down an EPP nominee, Hungary’s László Trócsányi.
Schmit’s revenge? This time around, the Socialists could oppose EPP nominees in retaliation against Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Luc Frieden’s decision to nominate Christophe Hansen instead of Nicolas Schmit, who led the Party of European Socialists’ EU election campaign. Ahead of the vote, Socialist forces including S&D president Iratxe García said they would require the EPP to give up commissioner posts to the Socialists to ensure political balance.
Other hot topics: Anyone assigned to migration and agriculture is bound to face a tough hearing. Both topics are at the heart of the political debate, especially when it comes to dealing with farmers’ concerns and the implementation of the EU’s migration pact.
Conflict of interest will be key, too. Before the hearings can even take place, the legal affairs committee will submit all nominees to close financial scrutiny. In 2019, two nominees were rejected by the committee for alleged conflicts of interest. “We will perform a thorough and impartial review and ensure the integrity and trust in the process,” legal affairs committee chair Ilhan Kyuchyuk told POLITICO.
22 AND COUNTING: As mentioned above, it’s been a big week for commissioner nominations. The full list of candidates so far is here.
Roll call: The new names unveiled this week are Luxembourg’s Christophe Hansen; Romania’s Victor Negrescu; Cyprus’ Costas Kadis; and Lithuania’s Andrius Kubilius.
Why the wait? Just Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Portugal and Italy are yet to announce their picks.
Belgium’s non-government: Political instability following the national election in June has made it difficult to find a nominee, especially as coalition talks failed this week over a budget dispute, with prime minister hopeful Bart De Wever resigning from his mission to form a government on Thursday.
Bulgaria’s unstable politics: Bulgarian President Rumen Radev refused to appoint a caretaker government on Monday, prolonging the country’s political stalemate amid a rift over the nomination of Kalin Stoyanov to continue as interior minister. The political uncertainty has delayed the nomination announcement.
Portugal’s big announcement: Portugal’s nominee will be announced during an event that starts on August 26, with the pick expected to give a speech on August 31, according to local media. The frontrunner is Maria Luís Albuquerque, who was finance minister during a rocky patch for Portugal and was overlooked for the commissioner post a decade ago.
Denmark’s announcement expected soon: Climate and Development Minister Dan Jørgensen, a social democrat, is the runaway favorite in discussions taking place in Copenhagen.
Italy’s man seems set, but not official yet: Raffaele Fitto is believed to be Giorgia Meloni’s pick. He is a rarity in Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, which is generally filled with Euroskeptic firebrands, chest-thumping nationalists and political novices. He’s a former member of the European Parliament, said by friend and foe alike to be a pragmatist, and, having been Europe minister since October 2022, is a bit of an EU nerd. Read a profile by our Gregorio Sorgi.
Money, money, money: European governments are battling for their people to get roles linked to the bloc’s finances, with more than eight nominees signaling they want an economy-related portfolio. Here’s a rundown.
EU ADRIFT AMID US ELECTION UNCERTAINTY: France has no government, Germany’s coalition is fighting itself, Giorgia Meloni’s Italy is an outcast on the EU stage, and the looming U.S. election could rip Europe’s protective blanket away. On top of that, Brussels is still months away from kicking off its new five-year legislative cycle, as the next team of commissioners won’t be approved by MEPs and voted on as a package until many more hurdles are cleared. My colleague Eddy looked into the EU’s weakest moment in this great Brussels Playbook.
MEP RIMA HASSAN’S HAMAS TIES IN THE SPOTLIGHT: French newspaper Le Point reported French radical left MEP Rima Hassan’s alleged participation in a pro-Hamas rally in Jordan, where many attendees were paying tribute to Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in July. The EU lists Hamas as a terrorist organization. Shortly after, Le Point reported that more than 50 French MEPs asked Parliament President Roberta Metsola to lift Hassan’s immunity (though that can only be done if national judicial authorities request it) and to use disciplinary measures. According to a letter seen by Eddy, ECR vice-president Assita Kanko has also requested Metsola to investigate the matter.
HUNGARIAN MEP RESIGNS: Fidesz MEP Balázs Győrffy resigned on Friday as an MEP after “a drunken argument with a lady, which, to my great regret, escalated to violence,” he said in a Facebook post. “Although I regretfully have no memory of what happened, what I did was unacceptable,” he added.
Current excitement level: Who needs sunbathing? What I am craving now is to get soaked every day while going to work, while waiting for the cold, merciless autumn to arrive!!!
Last word: “Sorry, we are all on holiday,” an APA told me when I tried to reach out, just like 80 percent of the other MEPs and Parliament staff that I tried to talk to this week.
Thanks to: Seb Starcevic, Paul Dallison and Dato Parulava.
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