The
European Parliament is to conduct the last of the EU Commission hearings. The
grilling has revealed weak points in the proposed 27-member team, which will
likely be reshuffled before undergoing a confirmation vote.
Former
Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen and former Dutch Foreign Minister Frans
Timmermans, the remaining two nominees for the EU Commission, were to face the
European Parliament on Tuesday, bringing over a week of hearings to a close.
Katainen
has been nominated for the position of vice president for growth, investment
and competitiveness. The 42-year-old center-right politician is also the EU's
economy commissioner.
Meanwhile,
Frans Timmermans, 53, is to face questions about his qualifications for the
post of first vice-president. The center-left politician would be tasked with
overseeing better regulation, inter-institutional relations, the rule of law
and the charter of fundamental rights if approved for the position.
Problematic
candidates
While
Katainen and Timmermans' hearings are to be the final inquiries, they were not
the main highlight of Tuesday's session. Instead, they were overshadowed by
controversies surrounding other candidates in the group of 27 nominees, whose
failure to convince EU members of parliament could put incoming EU Commission
chief Jean-Claude Juncker's commission at risk.
On Tuesday,
the MEPs awaited more answers from two controversial politicians tapped for
financial posts.
Briton
Jonathan Hill is to face a second hearing. The candidate holds a top spot in
the same party as British Prime Minister David Cameron, who has paved the way
for a referendum in Great Britain over remaining in the EU. Moreover, Hill's
previous work as a lobbyist has raised concerns over his allegiance to London
banking sector.
Though the
conservative politician's rhetorical skill charmed some MEPs during the first
hearing, others demanded he return to provide more substantive answers
regarding his nomination to head one of the finance posts.
The EU
parliament also expected more information from France's Pierre Moscovici. The
Socialist politician's nomination as finance commissioner has been met with
skepticism given his country's inability to meet EU budget targets. Moscovici
was expected to submit written answers by Tuesday to defend his nomination.
Appropriate
nominations?
Meanwhile,
the MEPs have also grappled over both conflicts of interest and other
questionable affiliations during the hearings.
Spain's
Miguel Arias Canete, who has been nominated as climate commissioner, has drawn
criticism for his ties to the oil industry.
The
parliament has also already rejected the candidacy of former Hungarian justice
minister Tibor Navracsics for the post of education, culture and citizenship.
In a government led by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Navracsics
oversaw policies which some lawmakers say were anti-democratic.
The legislative
body did, however, recommend Navracsics be given a different post.
October 22
vote
The EU
parliament is then scheduled to hold a confirmation vote on October 22.
Instead of
deciding on each individual candidate, the parliament must vote on the proposed
team as a whole. A 'no' vote would therefore force incoming EU Commission chief
Jean-Claude Juncker - who is scheduled to take up his post at the beginning of
November - to select a new commission.
Juncker is
due to replace outgoing chief Jose Manuel Barroso.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.