It's a'Fragile Europe, divided and unprepared is the one that finds itself having to face all the unknowns and risks (starting with possible trade wars) connected with the new american administration driven by Donald Trump. While the new American president closes in a few sentences the most important boxes of his team, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen takes a long time to find a agreement on the names of the 26 commissioners, thus delaying the possible date for the start of the new Commission. Von der Leyen is openly accused by the socialists of S&D of shifting the political axis of the new European executive towards the most conservative right (up to that of the patriots). The Liberals, together with the president of the European Parliament Metsola are taking on the burden of acting as mediators in this difficult game but everything suggests that an agreement will not be found before the middle of next week.
A Fragile and Divided Europe: How to Deal with Trump?
But we need to hurry because a Europe without a government would be the worst response to open a dialogue with the new US administration. There were those in European capitals who had breathed a sigh of relief thinking that Trump could nominate Marco Rubio Secretary of State e Mike Waltz National Security Advisor. Somehow manageable and reassuring choices, but the relief was short-lived. Not only for the Elon Musk's appointment (even if in a position external to the administration) but for Tulsi Gabbard Director of National Intelligence, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii who has no experience in intelligence and is known for her favorable views of Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad. Absolute lack of experience even for Pete Hegseth, conductor of Fox News as secretary of defense. As attorney general, Trump has chosen Matt Gaetz already investigated by the House Ethics Committee, an appointment that shocked even the Republicans. Appointments that are anything but professional, and that could encounter obstacles in their passage in the Senate.
On this side of the Atlantic things are no better. There is no agreement on the next team of European commissionersYesterday von der Leyen held a meeting with the group leaders of the main political families: for the EPP Manfred weber, for the socialists Iratxe Garcia and for Renew Europe Valerie Hayer. It is still far from an agreement on the final green light to the new Commission team, which means that the possible start date for the executive is 1 December it could slip even next year giving von der Leyen less time to prepare for the Trump era.
Crossed Vetoes and Deadlock: The Battle for Expiring EU Commissioners
MEPs have so far given the provisional green light to 19 of the 26 commissioners but the Hungarian Oliver Varhelyic and all six executive vice presidents (Teresa Ribera, Raffaele Thick, Kaja Callas, Stéphane Stayed, Henna Crochet e Roxana You are missing) I am still pending approvalThe entire list must be voted on no later than the 28 November.
A game of cross-vetoes is blocking the process. The EPP insists that the Hungarian Várhelyi passes as well as the vice-presidency to Fitto. They also demand that the socialist Teresa Ribera agrees to resign if she is accused of responsibility in her role as minister for ecological transition in Spain for the inondazioni that Valencia have caused more than 200 deaths. The most aggressive are the Spanish Popular Party but Iratxe García, leader of the Socialists, has accused the Spanish Popular Party of Pons, which governs the region of Valencia, of having specific responsibilities in the failure to warn about the floods.
Fitto, Ribera and the puzzle of the EU vice-presidencies: who will prevail?
The socialists (also supported by the Greens) ask to separate the Spanish facts from the green light to Vice President Ribera and that Fitto be demoted from his role as executive vice president. The July agreement, the socialists say, included the green light for five vice presidents of the center-left coalition. If von der Leyen now wants to give Fitto the vice presidency, she should find another majority. The Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni attacks the socialists for having insinuated that "Italy does not deserve to have a vice-presidency of the Commission". In an attempt to find a point of agreement, the leader of Renew Valerie Hayer and the head of Parliament Robert Metsol are acting as mediators. “There is still time,” Metsola said. One of the mediation options would be to reduce the delegations to Hungarian Várhelyi, but the question of how to remove the vice-presidency from Fitto remains. If Weber, García and Hayer fail to find an approach on the vice-presidents, the committees could hold secret ballots with all risks which this entails. At that point Weber would be forced to find votes also from thefar right, precisely those who in Germany they are headed by the Afd that will clash in the February elections in Germany with the CDU of the populars. A nice puzzle to square.
