In the end the puzzle was put back together, albeit with more than a few stomach aches. Ursula van der Leyen she was very clever in finding the right balance in the distribution of portfolios to the new commissioners officially presented yesterday at the European Parliament of Strasbourg and who between October and November will be grilled in their respective committees in hearings that are anything but formal. Ursula von der Leyen has been able to find the right compromises between the needs of the countries and the needs of the different political families, she has been able to silence the demands of the most rebellious countries with more or less realizable promises, to let the withdrawal of the French commissioner slide by Breton, a cumbersome and prominent figure who could have overshadowed the president's leadership and satisfied (even if only partially) the pressing requests of the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni whose future support, despite ECR's negative vote in the European Parliament, could be very useful.
All that said and filed away: this ability of the president who is heading towards her second term will be enough to make theEurope that leap in quality that the EU needs more than ever today with two wars on its borders and an economic emergency still to be governed? The question remains in the background practically unanswered by all observers who are instead passionate as never before about the results of the puzzle between winners and losers as if it were a football match. At the bottom of the list among the portfolios with an appeal and powers close to zero, the Hungarian commissioner shines Oliver Várhelyi who will have to take care of the welfare of the animals as if she were a veterinarian. In the highest part, however, the Spanish Teresa Ribeira It was awarded a portfolio that focuses on competition (the real direct power of the Commission) as well as the green and digital transition.
EU Commission: Next Generation EU competence will go to Dombrovskis and not to Fitto
Among the winners, it is certainly worth mentioning the Baltic countries that, due to their geographical location, have assumed greater power since Russia invaded Ukraine. Estonian Kaja Kallas will be the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Defense Policy, essentially the head of EU diplomacy. Finnish Henna Virkkunen will be vice-president for technological sovereignty, security and democracy. And Latvian Valdis Dombrovskis, a veteran of the Commission; will have the economic portfolio and the reconstruction of Ukraine. Therefore, it will be up to him (and not Fitto) to be responsible for the implementation of the Next Generation EU. As for the parties, 14 of the 27 commissioners belong to the EPP, while the liberals of Renew Europe, despite having gone from third to fifth group in the European Parliament, have had 5 commissioners.
As for the so-called “losers”, the young Maltese Micallef (35 years old) had to settle for the portfolio on intergenerational equity, youth and sport. Disappointment also for the Czech Jozef Sikela who was aiming for a portfolio on energy and trade and had to settle for international partnerships.
The Fitto case shows, instead, how European issues and dynamics are light years away from Rome. The tones in the Government (and not only) on the future role of Fitto are almost all triumphalistic. In reality, the vice-presidency (one of the six) will have real powers only on two directions of the Commission: that on regional policies and that on structural reforms. Fitto will not have powers (as was rumored) on Next Generation EU or on the PNR, not even directly on transport and agriculture but only on the cohesion funds that are indirectly managed, that is, managed by the individual Member States.
Funds that have already been pre-allocated to Italy on the basis of the 2021-2027 budget. In short, a blanket that is more than tight for the Italian Minister of European Policies who knows the dynamics of Brussels well but in the meantime receives the praise of Italian politics.
Obviously, Fitto will also have to undergo a hearing at the European Parliament. “If I have to look at the competence and seriousness of Fitto, who is a person esteemed in all respects also in Europe,” Meloni said yesterday, “I have no doubts that he will pass the Commission’s exam. Then the other dynamics are political and there everything becomes more complex, but it depends on us, on how much Italy manages to move together because we must remember that Raffaele Fitto is not the Commissioner of FdI or of the government but the Italian Commissioner.”
Commission: here are Fitto's real skills
Meloni insists on specifying that "the PNRR that previously only had Dombrovskis as commissioner is now jointly owned by Dombrovskis and Fitto: that's another 600 billion euros of competence. After that, Fitto, as vice president of the commission, coordinates the work of some other commissioners. What are the subjects that are entrusted to Fitto? Agriculture, transport, tourism, fishing, marine economy. All fundamental delegations for Italian interests". However, Meloni's interpretation is entirely personal and finds no confirmation in the so-called "mission letter" with which von der Leyen specifies Fitto's future tasks: cohesion and structural reforms. Period.
