President von der Leyen is working to broker a deal among major political groups in order to salvage the new European Commission. The process of agreeing on the next Commission has hit a roadblock due to political manoeuvring between the key centre-right European People’s Party and the Socialist & Democrats. All candidate hearings have taken place, and evaluation letters are set to be published on November 21, with the Parliament expected to vote on the Commission the following week. Each candidate must have the support of at least two-thirds of the European Parliament committee conducting their confirmation hearing.
While all political groups initially agreed to base their decisions on candidates’ answers during the hearings, this has not been entirely followed. Twenty candidates were swiftly approved, while Hungarian candidate Olivér Várhelyi’s confirmation was postponed pending additional written questions. The six designated executive vice-presidents faced tough questioning from MEPs, with some groups advocating for a “package deal” for approval rather than individual confirmation. The EPP is withholding approval for Spain’s Teresa Ribera due to her involvement in the deadly Valencia flooding.
The S&D has criticized the EPP for using Ribera as a “scapegoat” and risking the stability of the European Institutions amidst challenging geopolitical conditions. They have called for a pro-European, democratic majority supporting Ursula von der Leyen, which could mean stripping the ECR’s Raffaele Fitto of his vice-presidency. The EPP opposes downgrading Fitto to a simple commissioner, citing Italy’s size and significance. Von der Leyen has intervened in negotiations, meeting with the leaders of major groups, but no deal has been reached yet.
Renew Europe is more open to reaching a compromise quickly and has criticized the EPP and S&D for their clash. The Greens/EFA, who supported von der Leyen’s candidacy, have expressed concern over the deadlock and criticized the EPP for aligning with the far-right. The outcome of negotiations may lead to adjustments in tasks and titles for some commissioners, but outright rejection of a candidate seems unlikely. In the previous legislature, three commissioners were rejected, but a similar scenario is not expected this time. As one Spanish Socialist stated, “Everything is now at stake” in the ongoing negotiations.
