Five prime ministers, two deputy prime ministers, ten ministers, one secretary of state, three MEPs, the leader of the Conservatives in the House of Lords, six outgoing European commissioners. These are the profiles of the new members of the Commission proposed by the governments of the Member States, listed in the list that Jean-Claude Juncker, historic Luxembourg Prime Minister, Christian Democrat of the EPP, new president of the Community Executive, handed over to Matteo Renzi. Who, as we know, holds the role of president of the EU Council for the current semester.
The list seems to reflect a more markedly political nature of the new Commission which will have to take office in Palazzo Berlaymont, in the center of the European quarter of Brussels, on XNUMX November next. Unless, as happened five years ago, new facts do not intervene to delay the complex procedure for forming the Commission in the terms established by the European Treaties.
A procedure that began with the election by the new European Parliament, on 16 July, of Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the Commission. It then continued, on 30 August, with the designation of Federica Mogherini as high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy as well as vice-president of the Commission itself. A task which, in order to become operational, requires – as for all the commissioners (who last week individually had a first meeting with Juncker, holder of the power to assign the portfolio to each commissioner) – a confirmation vote from the European Parliament.
In reality, before the one reached by Mogherini, another box in the top position of the Commission had already been occupied as a result of skilful teamwork at the Finnish home. When, after the resignation of Olli Rehn who was elected to the Strasbourg Parliament in May with the Liberal Democrat list, the brilliant and ambitious Jyrki Katainen resigned as prime minister, and his successor at the helm of the Finnish government nominated him to replace “temporarily” (until the end of October) Rehn, at the same time elected to the vice presidency of the European Parliament.
Substitution similar to those operated by Italy (Nelli Feroci for Tajani), Luxembourg (Reicherts for Reding) and Poland (Dominik for Lewandowski). With the difference that these three substitute commissioners will return to their respective bases at the end of October. In the first case to leave room for Federica Mogherini, in the second for Jean-Claude Juncker, in the third for Polish Deputy Prime Minister Elzbieta Bienkowska. Helsinki instead confirmed Katainen. Who has made no secret of his intention to remain at the helm of economic and monetary affairs; if possible, even with one of the vice president's hats.
At this point, the publication of the list of positions will make it possible to verify the authenticity or otherwise of the rumors that have appeared in the media throughout Europe in recent weeks regarding a secret Renzi-Merkel pact or, if we want to avoid personalisation, Italy-Germany. According to this purported agreement, Berlin allegedly undertook to support Mogherini in the CFSP, asking in exchange for Rome's help in blocking the path of the French socialist Pierre Moscovici in economic and monetary affairs.
In other words, in that seat that in the meantime has already been occupied by Katainen, the EPP as well as Merkel, a big fan of budget rigor like and more than Olli Rehn. A seat that the Chancellor of Berlin - according to rumors in many European capitals - would not at all like to end up with being occupied by a supporter of less severe financial rigor (and moreover a socialist…) such as Moscovici for example.
The list now, after publication in the Official Journal of the EU (a formality); it will be completed with the assignment of tasks to the commissioners, a task that falls to Juncker to complete. After that, in a short if not very short time (much depends on the choices, certainly already made but also on any stiffening by some Member States less satisfied than others), the President of the Commission will publicly announce the assignment of portfolios to the commissioners. Whose mandate will last two and a half years, which may be extended for the same period of time, as indeed has already happened in the past. However, that of Mister or Lady Pesc (in this case of Federica Mogherini) is excluded from this rule, which – the Treaties establish – is five years.
As for the distribution of the other portfolios - and, even before that, the organization of the work of a now overcrowded body (28 commissioners, including the president and Lady Pesc, one for each member state) - hypotheses and forecasts have been raging for days. What now seems certain is that, as Juncker himself has hinted, the office of the vice presidents (five or six are said to be) will be more operational than in the past: that is, each "deputy" will have responsibility for a limited number of portfolios, each of which is attributed to a single commissioner. And the working method should be by projects rather than themes.
Pending the imminent official communication of the assignment of portfolios, it should be emphasized that in this round the representation of women has remained unchanged (9 women, a third of the college total) compared to that of the outgoing Commission. A battle sustained until the last few days, and won, by supporters of gender equality. Which is almost unanimous in the Strasbourg Assembly hall (while at the level of national governments a similar enthusiasm does not always emerge), but which in practice now sees Guy Verhofstadt's Liberal Democrats in the front row, with 4 women out of 5 commissioners ; followed by the Socialists & Democrats led by Gianni Pittella, 2 women and 7 men; and by the populars of Manfred Weber (the German MEP who on 15 July in Strasbourg "shot" wide-eyed at Renzi's Italy), with 3 out of 13 women. In total, therefore, 9 commissioners and 18 commissioners.
To the latter must be added another: the British Jonathan Hopkin Hill, baron of Oareford, former leader of the Conservatives in the House of Lords, with the same noble title and the same parliamentary office in his homeland as Catherine Ashton, baroness of Upholland. Outgoing Lady Pesc (without particular glory, also because in the EU foreign affairs have so far been the jealous prerogative of national governments).
Of the tasks destined for the ladies, in addition to the one already attributed to Federica Mogherini, one can imagine that one of weight could be assigned to the Bulgarian Kristalina Georgieva, Ppe, outgoing commissioner for international cooperation, humanitarian aid and crisis response, ex-vice president of the World Bank, who proved himself in Brussels.
Important portfolios could also be assigned to the Swedish Cecilia Malmström, S&D, outgoing commissioner for internal affairs; to the Polish vice-premier Elzbieta Bienkowska, Ppe, who is going to replace Janusz Lewandowski, until three months ago head of Financial Programming and Budget; and to another vice-premier, the Danish Margrethe Vestager, a liberal Democrat. While it is not known what reception the political aspirations of Alenka Bratusek, Liberal Democrat, until last March the first female prime minister in the short history of independent Slovenia, will have, the charming forty-two-year-old dark-haired lady to whose long, shapely legs Google dedicates a rich chapter of photos and videos unequivocally titled Bratusek legs“.
Finally, as regards the commissioners awaiting destination, it is worthwhile for us Italians to learn a curiosity. In other words, the new Dutch member of the Commission in place of Neelie Kroes (holder of the Digital Agenda portfolio for two more months) will be Frans (born Franciscus Cornelis Gerardus Maria) Timmermans, the sympathetic current foreign minister of the country of tulips. Who six months ago in Rome, from the rostrum of the congress of European socialists, recalled in perfect Italian his long stay in Rome as a teenager with a warm and highly applauded “I am a Roman and a Romanist. And tomorrow I'm going to the Olimpico with the hope that Roma defeat Inter!”.
