Why casting the new European Commission is a balancing act for Ursula von der Leyen

The list of new commissioners is to be unveiled on Tuesday by the Commission president. The casting reveals a delicate balancing act, where some appointments are not consensual.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is due to unveil the composition of her next College of Commissioners on Tuesday 17 September at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. This is just a first step; MEPs will then examine her candidacies in October, with the right of veto. But at this stage, the list of candidate Commissioners is complete, with the responsibilities of each.

On the other hand, as the replacement of the outgoing French Commissioner Thierry Breton by Stéphane Séjourné has already shown, the casting is not self-evident. And in the college presented on Tuesday morning, the most controversial proposal would undoubtedly be to propel the Italian Raffaele Fitto, 55, to the important post of Commissioner for the Economy, i.e. the head of an executive vice-presidency of the European Commission. A weighty post, which would be a way for Ursula von der Leyen to buy peace with Giorgia Meloni and her right-wing nationalist allies.

The fact remains that Rafelle Fitto embodies Giorgia Meloni’s European policy, one foot in, one foot out. A member of Fratelli d’Italia but moderate, a figure in a largely Eurosceptic government, he has also established good relations with Brussels. Rafelle Fitto is thus, today, Minister of European Affairs in charge of the post-Covid recovery plan. Italy was the best served country among the 27 with 200 billion Euros to spend. This has been the main part of his work for two years: technical work, but the man is above all a politician, skilled at negotiation, with Brussels.

Another nomination that is not self-evident, also in a key position, the environment, is that of the Spaniard Teresa Ribera. A socialist, Minister of Ecological Transition in Spain, she is resolutely anti-nuclear, which should make several countries, including France, tense. While the nomination of the Pole Piotr Serafin, close to Prime Minister Donald Tusk in the Budget, should be more of a consensus.

A casting, therefore, with the air of a balancing act, because there are in fact several balances, sometimes contradictory, to respect. First a geographical balance: not to harm Eastern Europe, which should be well served in the next college.

Then the balance in terms of parity. There, clearly, we are not there: barely ten women out of 27, counting Ursula von der Leyen already designated President. Finally, the political balance, with a short majority of portfolios that should go to the European right. And a growing weight of Eurosceptic and nationalist formations, which should be reflected in one way or another in future nominations.