ANALYSIS:Next week, MEPs will question nominees to the new EU Commission. This week, they set out their stalls
MÁIRE GEOGHEGAN-QUINN and her colleagues on the new European Commission have set out an ambitious, but potentially controversial, political programme for the incoming EU executive. Their first task, however, is to survive a pivotal series of confirmation hearings in the European Parliament, which begin next week.
Before those hearings, which have potential to expose any shortcomings in knowledge of their portfolios, the nominees had to set out their objectives in a series of written answers to questions posed by the parliament. Published on Wednesday, their submissions stand as something of a manifesto for the team selected by commission chief José Manuel Barroso.
In line with Barroso’s own priorities, there is plenty on the important work required to secure and add impetus to the union’s nascent economic recovery. But there is much beyond that too, with numerous sensitive policies coming to the fore.
In the justice arena, for example, Luxembourg’s commissioner-designate Viviane Reding speaks of moving in the medium term towards the creation of a European civil code. She describes such an initiative as “a voluntary tool to improve coherence” or a “more ambitious project”. The project flows from her plans to develop a European contract law. It remains to be seen what the guardians of the Irish and British common law traditions make of that.
Another of Reding’s medium-term priorities is to develop a European prosecutors’ office. More immediately, she wishes to advance plans to harmonise the choice of law rules on marriage dissolution to remove “substantial legal uncertainty for children and their parents in often conflicting bi-national situations”. To say the least, forging EU-wide agreement on that won’t be easy.
Baroness Catherine Ashton, the British nominee controversially chosen as EU foreign policy chief, says her first priority will be to finalise plans for the establishment of the union’s new diplomatic corps – or external action service – within four months. It will fall to her to allocate plum jobs in the diplomatic world and make nominations to posts of lesser importance.
While the baroness avoided detailed policy commentary on sensitive international issues in an informal session with the parliament a few weeks ago, MEPs will be seeking more detail from her next Monday.
She all but invited intricate questions on each of the major global issues in her submission, saying the EU “must pull its weight in areas of crisis and conflict, including in the Middle East, the Balkans, Iran, Afghanistan and Africa”. In addition, she will seek “to reinforce our strong co-operation with strategic partners such as the US, China, Russia, India, Brazil and Japan”.
Olli Rehn, the Finn who is poised to assume the economic and monetary affairs portfolio, will oversee efforts by Europe’s beleaguered governments to stabilise their ailing public finances. It is a given that Taoiseach Brian Cowen wishes Rehn to maintain the supportive stance of his predecessor Joaquin Almunia in respect of the Government’s campaign to fix the public finances.
Rehn’s top priority is obvious: to restore growth and boost employment in the EU at large while developing a strategy for the union to withdraw extraordinary measures to shore up its economy. In addition, however, he plans to issue a communication “on the establishment of a system of enhanced policy co-ordination based on broader and deeper surveillance for euro area member states”.
Amid acute pressure on the Greek authorities to put their fiscal house in order, this seems like code for the development of measures to bind members of the single currency into specific policy initiatives. That, too, could prove contentious In his new capacity as competition commissioner, Almunia will again take an important role on key Irish questions.
Not only is it likely to fall to him to approve the National Asset Management Agency scheme, he will also have the final say over the restructuring of Allied Irish Banks (AIB), Bank of Ireland and the nationalised Anglo Irish Bank.
Almunia promises a robust approach. “I will use the competition instruments to help member states to restructure companies in the financial sector and the real economy and to facilitate companies’ access to finance,” he says. “But I will not hesitate to act to prevent damaging subsidy races or undue distortions.”
Elsewhere in the economic space, the French nominee Michel Barnier declared his intention to maintain his independence from Paris in the internal markets portfolio he inherits from Charlie McCreevy.
Citing an old maxim of Jacques Delors, a giant among European officials, Barnier says it is difficult to fall in love with the EU’s internal market. His intention, however, is to “relaunch” the market. He will promote the opening of cross-border business in the vast services sector and bring to fruition plans already in train to strengthen financial regulation. It is likely that every move by Barnier, who was appointed in the teeth of British opposition, will be heavily scrutinised by Downing Street, which fears overbearing French influence on the financial sector will damage the City of London.
Geoghegan-Quinn – a newcomer to research, science and innovation – wants to guarantee that these issues will be “at the very heart of policy-making” within the EU. She wishes to strengthen co-operation between the EU and member states and simplify financial and administrative procedures under current programmes. Among other issues, a policy paper due this year on innovation will deal with intellectual property rights and regulatory matters.
Separately, the confirmation hearings will provide a telling reminder of the union’s failure to exert its influence in the shambolic Copenhagen summit in a session with incoming climate action commissioner Connie Hedegaard, the Danish nominee.
Hedegaard had to step aside as chair of the Copenhagen talks midway through after she was criticised by African countries for favouring wealthier states. Without irony, she says in her submission to the parliament that “the EU has to maintain its leadership role” in climate change. “The immediate priority will be to finalise the international discussions on the post-2012 regime in light of the Copenhagen outcome.”
Soon after the new commission takes office, Hedegaard will also advance proposals that include emissions from aircraft in the union’s energy trading scheme. Michael O’Leary, the pugnacious Ryanair chief, is sure to take note.
All of the above, and the submissions of the 18 other nominees, are but guidelines as to their political priorities. Whether they get to advance them depends on the parliament, which has the power to reject Barroso’s team outright if any of appointees are deemed unsuitable.
In the course of their three-hour question-and-answer sessions with MEPs, the new commissioners will have nowhere to hide.
Arthur Beesley is Europe Correspondent