X-ray | Right turn at the European Commission

The new European Commission, proposed this week, will reflect the results of the June vote. More right-wing and a bit of the far right.

Name

Raffaele Fitto

Age

55 years old

Function

Candidate for a vice-presidency of the European Commission

Keywords

Right, extreme right, immigration, Germany, Giorgia Meloni

Why we are talking about it

It was announced, it is confirmed: the European Union (EU) is hardening to the right. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, unveiled this week her “cabinet” of 27 commissioners (the equivalent of ministers), one from each EU member country. This new team perfectly reflects the results of the European elections in June, since it includes a majority of representatives from the conservative right (European People’s Party) and even a delegate from the far right, the Italian Raffaele Fitto.

A “normalization” of the extreme right

A member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia party, Mr Fitto will be more than just a commissioner: he will be one of the six vice-presidents of the commission, and will be in charge of “Cohesion and Reforms”. This appointment to a position of power makes sense, considering the resounding victory of his party in the June election, with 29% of the vote in Italy. But some, more worried, see it above all as a “normalisation” of the extreme right in the European institutions. Let us recall that Mr Fitto’s party^me Meloni, rooted in neo-fascism, does not hide his opposition to the LGBTQ+ “lobby” and “mass migration” in Europe.

“A farmed chicken of Italian politics”

The son of a member of parliament from the Christian right, a former soldier of Silvio Berlusconi, Fitto does not share the neo-fascist roots of his boss, however, points out Ettore Recchi, professor at Sciences Po Paris and at the Migration Policy Centre of the European University Institute in Florence. The expert describes Raffaele Fitto as “a farmed chicken of Italian politics”, always present in the landscape, and rather “moderate” on the social level.

An Austrian at immigration

For Mr. Recchi, other appointments are perhaps more controversial. Starting with the Austrian Magnus Brunner, who inherits immigration. Mr. Brunner’s party, the historic ÖVP (Austrian People’s Party), is known for its rigidity on freedom of movement within the European Union and its past alliances with the far-right FPÖ — which is threatening to win the national elections on September 29. This “very right-wing message,” according to Mr. Recchi, clearly responds to the results of the June vote, marked by the breakthrough of many anti-immigration parties.

Germany tightens its borders

Nothing to do with the new Commission, but still… Germany announced this week that it would be implementing controls at its land borders. This measure is far from being unanimous within the European Union. While it is not illegal in itself to temporarily close its borders (several countries have already done so, including France after the 2015 attacks), this decision undermines a pillar of the EU and the Schengen area, which advocates the free movement of people. It is all the more shocking since Germany, which has borders with nine EU member states, has always positioned itself as the guardian of respect for European law. “There is a form of exemplarity here that is being shattered,” laments François Gemenne, a specialist in migration issues at Sciences Po Paris and the University of Liège.

“Welcome to the club!”

According to the German Interior Ministry, this decision aims to reduce irregular immigration. François Gemenne believes it is mainly motivated by electoral reasons, while the far-right party AfD (Alternative for Germany) threatens to win the regional elections in Brandenburg this Sunday, after winning in Thuringia two weeks ago. “We can be surprised at the ease with which Germany, at the slightest political turbulence, is ready to sit on one of the founding principles of the EU,” adds Mr. Gemenne, surprised that these right-wing measures come from the left-wing government of Olaf Scholz. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, known for his anti-immigration and pro-Russian positions, greeted the news with a sarcastic “Welcome to the club!”

These sorting centers in Albania

Another surprise: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Rome, where he praised Giorgia Meloni’s migration policy this week. Faced with an influx of migrants, Starmer is said to have shown himself to be “interested” in Italy’s plan to expel irregular immigrants to Albania, where sorting centres are being built. “That says a lot about what the political lines on this subject have become,” hisses François Gemenne, surprised to see such cordiality between the left and the radical right. Ettore Recchi, for his part, does not believe that the United Kingdom will follow Italy’s example, having shelved its controversial plan to expel people to Rwanda. “It would be closer, but it would be the same principle,” he says.

Swell on the horizon

But let’s get back to this new commission, which will be composed of 11 women and 16 men. Not the promised parity, even if four of the six vice-presidencies are attributed to women. Among them, the Spanish socialist Teresa Ribera inherits the ecological transition and the former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas will be in charge of Foreign Affairs. The Lithuanian Andrius Kubilius obtains the portfolio of Defense and Space, a brand new post created to deal with the Russian threat and the war in Ukraine. The prospective commissioners will now have to pass the delicate stage of hearings and a vote in Parliament in order to be officially appointed. As is often the case, these hearings could be stormy. Several MEPs would like to bring down the Hungarian candidate, Olivér Várhelyi, considered too close to the positions of Viktor Orbán, the grain of sand in the EU’s gears.

With Agence France-Presse, Yahoo News, International mailEuronews, Inkstick, the BBC and Politico