Ursula Von Der Leyen has pushed through her college of commissioners in time for the 1 December deadline.
For weeks the European Parliament's three largest parties have been wrangling over the six nominated executive vice-presidents. Now, the personnel of the next European Commission has been confirmed. The Commission is the EU's closest thing to an executive arm and will be in power for the next five years.
Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen has held onto all 26 original nominees despite strong backlash for approving Raffaele Fitto, a member of the far-right Fratelli d'Italia party and the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, as executive vice-president and commissioner for Cohesion and Reform.
The Parliament's second-largest group the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) originally opposed Fitto's nomination, arguing that his far-right views made him unsuitable to oversee his portfolio. The EPP retaliated by blaming Teresa Ribera – the S&D's commissioner candidate for the Green Transition and Competition – for Spain's mishandling of the Valencia floods, in which over 200 people have died. Ribera, who is Spain's environment and energy minister, says climate change is responsible for the disaster.
The confirmation hearing of Raffaele Fitto. Credit: EP
A backroom deal between the EPP, S&D and centrist group Renew on Wednesday night paved the way to an agreement in which both Fitto and Ribera will hold onto their posts, along with every other commissioner designate.
A slight reshuffling of responsibilities means that Belgian commissioner-designate Hadja Lahbib will take over women's health and health crisis management from Hungarian nominee Oliver Varhelyi. Varhelyi, a member of far-right Patriots for Europe, will keep the animal welfare and health portfolio.
This is the first time since 1999 that not one nomination has been rejected by the European Parliament.
'Staggering hypocrisy'
The political impasse may have been broken but the deal has sparked anger and disbelief among centrist, centre-left and left-wing MEPs, who denounce the EPP for cosying up to the far-right.
"Since the start of this mandate the EPP has consistently chosen to side with the far-right," said Greens/EFA leader Bas Eickhout. "We’ve said time and again that Raffaele Fitto is unfit for a role that covers billions in European funds. He showed very little interest, knowledge and proposals for his future role during the hearings and we regret that he will become Vice President of the Commission."
"This betrayal has paved the way for the inclusion of two far-right nominees in the new Commission, one poised to become the first far-right Vice-President in EU history," The Left stated. It added that the new commission is "the result of deliberate horse-trading among so-called 'moderates' [...] The hypocrisy is staggering."
🔴Conservateurs, socialistes et libéraux viennent de s'accorder en vue du vote sur la future @EU_Commission la semaine prochaine.
Ils confirment qu'elle comptera un vice-président exécutif d’extrême droite. Déplorable ! pic.twitter.com/dTctcbDAgp — Saskia Bricmont (@saskiabricmont) November 20, 2024
Translation: Conservatives, Socialists and Liberals reach an agreement ahead of the vote on the future EUCommission next week. They have confirmed that it will include a far-right executive vice-president. Deplorable!
The backroom deal included a non-binding commitment to the rule of law and pro-Europe, pro-Ukraine policies. But the EPP has already broken the cordon sanitaire since elections on 9 June by teaming up with the ECR to water down the EU Deforestation Law earlier this month.
The ECR – Fitto's far-right bloc – offered its "sincere congratulations" to the Italian commissioner-designate while S&D justified its cooperation with the EPP on the matter. Leader Iratxe García stated that "this agreement unblocks a situation that was putting the EU’s stability at risk [...] We have accomplished what seemed impossible days ago."
The European Parliament will vote on the College of Commissioners on 27 November. If the vote is positive, the new European Commission will be in operation from 1 December.
