Brussels – Until last night, one could say that “this European Commission is not to be done,” as in The Betrothed. Then the written agreement between Populars (EPP), Liberals (Renew) and Socialists and Democrats (S&D) brought serenity, but it also brought out the fragility of the European majority. Anna Bosco, professor of “Politics of the European Union” at the University of Florence, answered our questions to comment on the current political predicament in the EU.
Professor Bosco, would it have been possible to dissolve the European Parliament if it had not approved the new Commission?
Bosco: “No, the European Parliament cannot be dissolved; European citizens elected it. Regarding the Commission, what the Parliament can do, as has happened so far only once, is to promote a motion of censure against the EU executive, which, however, must already be in office. However, there could have been continued pressure to change the composition of the commissioners, so more work for von der Leyen.
While the treaties speak of approval of the Commission, thus of the whole college, the Parliament’s rules of procedure speak of election of the Commission, which is obviously incorrect. At the same time, it reinforces the idea of a Parliament always trying to gain new powers in its dealings with the other institutions.”
The formal approval of the European Commission will take place with the vote next Wednesday at the Strasbourg plenary, although we know that a political compromise was reached yesterday. Without approval, what can happen?
B: “It goes back to the step before the hearings, i.e. the chair of the Commission would have to find a new college of Commissioners and agree with the member states. It would take much more time to repeat the process from the beginning and get a new approval from the Parliament.”
As for the chairwoman of the Commission, is her role affected by any rejection of her college by Parliament?
B: “No, she remains in office.”
Looking at the debates in the European Parliament, the fragility of balances in the EU is evident. In concrete terms, how autonomous are political groups from their national governments and from the political parties they belong to at the national level?
B: “Political groups are made up of representatives of many national parties, and each party can often have its own position, so much so that before the election of von der Leyen 2, it was clear that there had to be a majority far greater than 50 per cent plus one. That said, the autonomy of individual parties, but especially of individual MEPs, is highly variable. It is difficult to make a general statement, the room for maneuver depends on many factors, it can be greater or lesser depending on circumstances, such as whether one’s party is in government or in opposition, or according to the importance for that party of a specific issue. The current situation has shown very little autonomy.
The European representatives of the Spanish People’s Party did what Feijóo (President of the Spanish People’s Party, ed.) was asking for, i.e. to get Sanchez in trouble. We have a national issue where, on the one hand, the Socialists, on the other hand, the Spanish Populars, have acted closely with their leaders, not to mention the six members of Vox (Spanish far-right party, ed.). Another important aspect is the splits of groups at the European level, which is also evident in these events.”
From an institutional point of view, how would you analyse the constant shifting of majorities with pro-Europeans and eurosceptics in which the EPP is involved?
B: “In my opinion, it is linked, and could not be otherwise, to the results of the 2024 elections. Results that allow the EPP on some policies to flirt with formations further to the right, particularly with the Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). In the end, all this work fully legitimized ECR as a possible ally of the Populars.”
Although the Left was bitterly disappointed, in the EU, the winks to the extreme right of the Populars did not go unnoticed, starting with the so-called “Venezuela Majority“.
B.: “There are countries that do not like Weber’s choice. One example is Poland, where Civic Platform (a centre party with a pro-European vocation, ed.), part of the EPP, clashes against PiS (a nationalist party, ed.), which is part of ECR. Since they are competing, there is no possibility of agreement. The same is true in Hungary, where Tisza (centre-right party) is in the EPP and, of course, is against Orbán, so against the patriots.”
How do you judge this affair overall?
B.: “We had the intersection of different plans: a Spanish national plan, that is, the Spanish policy of polarization that has been going on since 2004, and then spilt over into Europe. This was demonstrated by the hearing of Teresa Ribera, which was very harsh by the Spanish EPP members.
The EPP jumped on this matter, legitimising both the conservatives and the reformists, as well as its freedom to manoeuvre. And then there was, in my opinion, an attempt to put Pedro Sánchez, the only leader of a social democratic force from a large European country left standing, in a very bad light.”
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
