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For all the fuss around migration, the written submissions before the European Commission hearings show that the economy is the topic that Europe’s new commissioners really want to talk about. Perhaps wisely so, as it could be bouncing back up the agenda fairly soon.
There is nothing journalists love more than important people releasing 385 densely written pages of important content just before midnight (yes, irony). Yet that is what the European Parliament did on Tuesday when it published the written answers that the commissioners-designate gave to the questions from EU’s lawmakers ahead of the early-November hearings.
For newsrooms, that means the equivalent of sifting through Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in just a couple of hours and then rehashing it for readers in a digestible format, ideally, by or shortly after dawn. If you ever wondered how we manage to do this – so do I.
Luckily, in this case, journalists did not need a full glossary to tell horcruxes from hinkypunks. Much of the commissioners’ input could be boiled down to one term: ‘competitiveness’, trendy Brussels lingo for making Europe’s ageing economy fit for the future.
That is a function of the way the new commission works, with its overlapping portfolios and obscure titles. Much has been written about European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s ‘overlap and conquer’ strategy, which splits each subject into micro-bits that are divided among the college, leaving her as the only person to oversee all subjects in full.
The commissioner hearings make this glaringly obvious: Almost every commissioner gets a shred of economic responsibility, given that 24 out of 26 are questioned by economy-related committees. By comparison, it was only 20 in 2019.
As a result, the word ‘competitiveness’ features 370 times in the commissioners’ answers. Stephane Séjourné alone drops it 74 times. Only two candidates – Kaja Kallas and Marta Kos – make no reference at all. Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta, the former Italian prime ministers tasked with preparing reports on the EU’s economy, also get shout-outs.
What commissioners-designate have to say on it, at this stage, might be less substantial. But, notably, ‘migration’ only gets 114 mentions from 11 of the 26 designated commissioners. This might seem counterintuitive given that migration has dominated the European discourse recently, not least taking centre stage at the last European Council.
But it reflects, first, that the economy is where the EU ultimately retains most power and most credibility, having come into existence as an economic union. Even the defence commissioner, a supposedly new post, is first and foremost a defence industry commissioner.
Back with a vengeance?
Most importantly, it reflects that for all the talk of migration, the commissioners might think that the economy is the underlying concern of leaders and voters alike. Migration has sprung up on the agenda with far-right election victories, and keeping it there also mostly seems to benefit the far-right.
There is a reason why the frontrunner in next year’s German election, Friedrich Merz – otherwise known as ‘Mr Border Controls’ – has explicitly stated that he does not want to campaign on migration, but rather on Germany’s shaky economy. That is likely to affect the European debate, given that Germany’s political discourse remains the continent’s pacemaker.
The economy and underlying fears of Europe becoming a glorified sweatshop where market leaders from China and America assemble their electric cars also keep European voters up. The cost of living and the economic situation were their top concerns at June’s EU election.
Much will be coming towards future commissioners. Controversial details of Draghi’s recommendations have yet received less airtime than they would have without migration. Think of common debt, which Germany’s Chancellor is already rhetorically preparing to block.
There is also the EU’s long-term budget, rocky international trade relations, and the fact that Europe’s economic powerhouses, Germany and France, are struggling with the bloc’s deficit rules.
In short, Europe’s economic woes could come back with a vengeance – possibly starting with the commissioner hearings.
The Roundup Read our latest policy analysis articles on how the new Commissioners responded to MEP written questions. The EU’s designated competition czar, Teresa Ribera, has confirmed her ambition to speed up and expand state aid in service of the EU’s political goals. In his response to written questions from the European Parliament released last night, incoming energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen is far more open to nuclear power than in previous statements but remains non-committal on power market reform. Incoming transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas promised continuity with the European Union’s Green Deal policies of the previous five years according to his written response to Parliament, released last night (22 October). Commissioner-designate for Democracy, Justice, and the Rule of Law Michael McGrath laid out his vision for safeguarding EU values and promoting competitiveness in tech policy, including the “major priority” of the Democracy Shield and a Digital Fairness Act, in his written responses ahead of the hearings published on Wednesday (23 October). Teresa Ribera has expressed strong support for the European Commission’s decision to impose tariffs on China-made electric vehicles (EVs), marking a significant shift from the Spanish-nominated commissioner’s previous messaging. Commissioner-designate for Internal Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, has steered clear of the current politically charged debate on the EU’s future migration policy, including ‘return hubs’ and transparency on migration deals with third countries. Commissioners-to-be: Key promises on agrifood policy ahead of hearings. The European Parliament published written answers from the commissioners-designate ahead of the hearings and these are the key takeaways. Executive vice president-designate for tech sovereignty, security, and democracy Henna Virkkunen (EPP) chose to withhold her opinions on major debates but said she would not shy away from retaliatory actions against Big Tech. Commissioner-designate Ekaterina Zaharieva committed to protecting European Research Council (ERC) autonomy and hinted at which programs could survive the Commission’s simplification plan in response to the EU Parliament’s written questions. Polish Commissioner-designate Piotr Serafin endorsed an ongoing Brussels push to overhaul the EU budget to introduce conditionality on national structural reforms for the disbursement of funds, similar to the bloc’s post-pandemic Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). In other news: The Norwegian government wants to introduce a 15-year minimum age threshold for using social media to protect children from harmful content and “big tech giants”.
MEP Victor Negrescu, the European Parliament’s co-rapporteur for the 2025 EU budget, warned during Tuesday’s (22 October) plenary debate that he would reject cuts proposed by the Council to the EU’s health programmes. The Lithuanian president’s Senior National Security Advisor, Kęstutis Budris, has not ruled out French President Emmanuel Macron’s idea of sending military instructors to Ukraine. Look out for
- The EESC holds a plenary session on enlargement titled Towards a Successful EU Enlargement.
- The three finalists for the 2024 Sakharov Prize will be announced
- In the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, France, MEPs will debate the following: Closing the EU skills gap: supporting people in the digital and green transition, stopping the radicalisation of young people through hate speech, and protecting oceans.
- Commissioner Nicolas Schmit meets with representatives of the Fondation Jean-Jaurès, member organisation of FEPS, in Paris, France.
- Schmit will participate in the EESC Enlargement High-Level Forum, in Brussels, Belgium.
- Commissioner Ylva Johansson meets the Comptroller-General of the Union of Brazil, Vinícius Marques de Carvalho, in Natal, Brazil.
- Johansson will also participate in the G20 Anti-Corruption ministerial meeting.
- Commissioner Janez Lenarčič participates in the International Conference in Support of Lebanon’s People and Sovereignty, in Paris, France.
- EU foreign policy chief Josep Borell will also take part in the same conference.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meets with Albanian President Bajram Begaj, in Albania.
- Von der Layen will also meet meets Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, in North Macedonia.
- Von der Layen will also visit flood-affected areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
[Edited by Rajnish Singh]
Source: euractiv.com
