Hearings, first cross veto in majority resolved. Green light for commissioners Lahbib and Roswall

Brussels – The first cross-party veto between the EU Parliament’s political groups on future European commissioners was unblocked without much fuss. After the temporary stop imposed yesterday (Nov. 5) on Sweden’s popular Jessika Roswall, a domino effect was immediately been triggered, with the European People’s Party preventing the green light for Belgian liberal Hadja Lahbib until Roswall’s nomination was approved.

In the end, the pro-European majority groups preferred to lay down their arms and avert the start of a fratricidal fight. Both Roswall and Lahbib won the endorsement of the relevant parliamentary committees. Reportedly, the Swedish commissioner, who will be entrusted with the delegation of Environment, Water Resilience and Circular Economy, was supported by the coordinators in the Environment Committee of Populars (EPP), Socialists (S&D), Liberals (Renew) and Conservatives (ECR).

For the Belgian, who will be responsible for Crisis Management and Equality, the numbers were more complex since there are four committees responsible for her hearing—Development (DEVE), Environment (ENVI), Women’s Rights (FEMM), and Civil Liberties (LIBE). Lahbib’s nomination was supported by half of the EPP coordinators, ECR, Renew, S&D, Greens and half of the Left.

In this way, all ten commissioners-designate who submitted themselves to EU Parliament’s scrutiny in the first two days of hearings were pushed forward to the taking office of the Commission. At this point, among the simple commissioners, only the Hungarian sovereignist Olivér Várhelyi, to whom von der Leyen gave the delegation for Health and Animal Welfare, remains at real risk. In all cases, the two-thirds majority of the group coordinators needed to approve the appointments was always configured in the same way: with the pro-European majority consisting of the Populars, Socialists and Liberals, along with the Greens and the European Conservatives and Reformists.