EU Commission puzzle: who will fill which post?
EU member states have put forward their candidates for the EU Commission. Ursula Von der Leyen requested that each country nominate a man and a woman to enable equal representation. However, many governments have not complied with this wish - and this is not the only reason for criticism amongst commentators.
Governments don't want to cede power
Expresso explains why Europe's capitals are dragging their feet:
“The governments felt that their power to determine the composition of the College of Commissioners was in jeopardy. And in European politics, any power that is transferred from the capitals to Brussels is unlikely to be returned. Most rejected the proposal. They didn't send two names so that they could choose one, and they didn't propose any women if they hadn't already planned to do so. ... This time round there will be no parity as there was in the last term [when 12 out of 27 Commissioners were women].”
Bulgaria left empty-handed again
Trud fumes:
“In a nutshell, the emerging distribution of posts is as follows: the 'big' countries get the top positions and the small ones don't. ... The filling of the posts on the new EU Commission is one of the key political moments of the next five years. It should be the task of all Bulgarian representatives in the EU Parliament to work together to ensure that Bulgaria receives a portfolio with real political clout. Once again, this was not the case. And Bulgarians have been left with the impression that they're sending expensive tourists to Brussels rather than people who represent the interests of the Bulgarian state and people.”
Childish defiance
Von der Leyen is unlikely to achieve her stated goal of equal representation in the Commission, the Süddeutsche Zeitung complains:
“Yes, of course, expertise is more important than gender. But do three quarters of all EU governments seriously intend to claim that they cannot find a qualified woman for a Commission post in Brussels among all their female ministers, state secretaries and parliamentarians? Surely not. The refusal to fulfil Von der Leyen's request is more likely an act of defiance: many governments regard the EU Commission President as too powerful anyway. So they will let her run aground on the issue of human resources - because they can. But above all, such defiance is childish.”
Exotic new positions
Allocating posts requires a lot of creativity from Von der Leyen, Corriere della Sera mocks:
“There is certainly no lack of ability to develop algorithms, one of which, for example, was crucial in 2020 to determine the EU's national quotas for the next generation. ... But Von der Leyen will not be able to use this to form her executive. ... Instead, she will above all be very creative, perhaps inventing exotic and meaningless positions. ... Moreover, she has the dazzling wild card of the executive vice-presidency in her hands. ... But if this is not linked to a high-ranking office, there is a danger that the executive vice-presidency will be nothing but frippery.”
Every country will get their commissioner
Due to the chaos in domestic politics, the caretaker government in Sofia only submitted the nominations for the new EU Commission shortly before the deadline. According to news.bg, this is not such a big deal:
“Even a few days' delay would hardly have mattered. It just shows how great the authority of the EU Commission and its president is. ... In any case, we will not be left without a commissioner. The system is designed in such a way that every member state has its own representative in the Commission. This is why ever more bizarre portfolios have been (and will be) created.”
An insult to Europe
The Portuguese government is wrong to propose former Finance Minister Maria Luis Albuquerque, who pushed through a tough austerity programme during the financial crisis, as EU Commissioner, journalist Daniel Oliveira fumes in Expresso:
“Albuquerque lacks the technical, political and ethical dimension for any position of responsibility, let alone at a European level. She has an impressive list of professional failures, political mistakes and violations of republican ethics. ... Her name is an insult to the European project, about which none of her views are known. What she thinks about the world is exemplified by the fact that she was willing to present the book by [right-wing populist] Chega deputy Gabriel Mithá Ribeiro, which is dedicated to Bolsonaro and Trump.”