Michael McGrath has said he “would not hesitate to act” when it came to pulling up EU countries who were rolling back on the rule of law, if he is confirmed as European commissioner for justice.
The former Fianna Fáil minister for finance is facing a confirmation hearing this morning in the European Parliament, where a committee of MEPs are questioning him on his suitability for the EU commissioner job.
Mr McGrath is in line to take over the commission brief covering justice, consumer protection and the rule of law. The role would see him lead the European Commission’s efforts to take on Hungary over the continued erosion of rights and backsliding on the rule of law by prime minister Viktor Orban’s right-wing populist government.
Addressing a committee of MEPs, Mr McGrath said he felt he would be an “honest broker” in dealing with countries when it came to the rule of law. He reiterated that he would examine tying EU funding to progress on reforms in that area.
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Mr McGrath said he would “take a look” at the current powers the commission had to penalise member states for breaches.
He said he was coming to the role with a “fresh pair of eyes” and any decisions taken against EU countries would be based on evidence. “Nobody should be under any illusions, I will be prepared to act in a strong and forthright way to ensure the rule of law is respected by every member state,” he said.
Tineke Strik, a Green MEP, said the commission needed to take more concrete action when member states were found to be going backwards. Mr McGrath said he agreed there needed to be more “follow-through” by the EU executive. “We are seeing slippage and we are seeing backsliding, we are seeing rule-of-law concerns, not just in one country or two countries,” he said.
The former Irish minister said he would also bring forward a Digital Fairness Act that would tackle misleading advertising by social media influencers and apps with “harmful” addictive designs.
Politicians needed to “ask questions” about whether the sphere of online influencers needed more oversight, he said. Things such as vaping products and procedures such as plastic surgery were being presented to children by influencers, he said. The proposed EU legislation would also address the practice of businesses making online subscriptions difficult for customers to cancel, he said.
Europe needed to be wary of foreign interference targeting its democratic elections, particularly in light of new technology like artificial intelligence, he said. “If we are honest with each other, there are threats to democracy within the European Union and we need to deal with those”, he said.
During the hearing Mr McGrath was questioned by Fabrice Leggeri, an MEP from Marine Le Pen’s far right National Rally party in France, who criticised the European Court of Justice as undermining the democratic “will of the people” in countries.
In response Mr McGrath pushed back against the criticism of the EU court, which drew a round of applause from MEPs. “We have a good system of checks and balances in place, we have to accept the primacy of EU law,” he said.
The Cork man said he would also bring forward a “comprehensive” EU-wide plan to tackle corruption. The commissioner-designate said the time was right for a review of EU civil and company law and that he would work to strengthen the operation of the European Arrest Warrant.
In his closing remarks, Mr McGrath said he would “work hand in hand” with the European Parliament over the next five years if approved by MEPs.
A committee of MEPs will now vote on whether to confirm Mr McGrath’s appointment to the EU job, with a two-thirds majority required for him to pass. If Mr McGrath does not get a two-thirds majority, MEPs can request further responses to written questions or hold a second hearing. MEPs can also opt for a second vote, where a commissioner only needs a simple majority to pass.
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