Such drama! And we are not even half way through yet. As it stands, two would-be commissioners are looking wobbly after their hearings in the European Parliament – the Lithuanian Algirdas Semeta and Bulgaria’s Rumiana Jeleva. Names in ascending order of wobbliness.
Semeta, penciled in for the tax and anti-fraud dossier, has been lambasted by the socialists for “lack of detail” and for being a “disappointment.” His performance, agree some EPP-ers (sotto and not-so-sotto voce), was underwhelming. But they are sticking by their man, even though he gets a less-than-glowing headline in his European People’s Party press release.
While Janusz Lewandowski “excels” in his budget hearing and Viviane Reding is a “good choice” for the justice dossier, Semeta is merely labelled as “promis[ing] to continue the fight against fraud.”
As for Jeleva, confusion reigns. Not least during her hearing yesterday, where much of the three hours galloped by in a circus atmosphere, presided over by the oh-alright-just-one-more-question former magistrate Eva Joly.
Questions were flung rather than asked, protocol broken, accusations levied and denied, papers distributed, objections made, outrage expressed. In the end no one was any the wiser about anything, it seemed.
Of course, it might have helped if the lady in question had distributed the relevant, and, according to her, exonerating company documentation ahead of the meeting. Putting it out during the meeting, in Bulgarian, and inviting MEPs to come back to her home town to see more documents wasn’t the most efficient course of action.
But how MEPs do love a good outrage! Preferably not against their own kind though. Amid the chaos, centre-right deputies stuck rigidly to their questions on policy substance. A school-marmish lecture from Irish deputy Gay Mitchell restored a bit of order and financial disclosure was relegated to being the elephant in the room for the rest of the proceedings.
What next? The commission, plainly wishing that the parliament could sort the matter out itself, now has the ball back in its court. It has to see whether its code of conduct has been breached.
And Jeleva’s treatment at the hands of the greens and socialists is not to be taken lying down. Who will pay? Maros Sefcovic – a Slovak socialist, up for the institutional portfolio and due for his hearing next week. An alleged past comment suggesting that Roma exploit the Slovak welfare system is to be the hill from which EPP-ers hurl their abuse, according to Hungary’s Jozsef Szajer, who helpfully called an informal meeting on Wednesday to tell journalists: “The EPP is the only group who has a Roma representative among us – and she is here with me.” Ho hum. A pawn in an unsavoury game?
#1 by Ronald Grünebaum on January 13, 2010 - 7:25 pm
Maybe a bit too much was piling up for Ms Jeleva.
Poor English and, may I say, rather poor German for someone who holds a Ph.D. from a German university;
Poor geographical knowledge, especially for a former foreign minister. Of course, asking about the Gulf of Aden when Somalia is meant is a trick question, but one that a ten-year old should have mastered;
The bizarre statements about prospective visits to Somalia and the Taliban. Well, maybe if you come from Bulgaria such places don`t look that threatening, but unfortunately it seemed that she had heard these words but didn`t relate them to anything;
Finally, the shady business past (or rather very recent past or actually present, who knows?). This already looked shady before anyone had the chance to find out what \Global Consult\ or \auto spa\ are actually doing and whether their managers ride around in black SUVs.
I think that this Balkan folklore has had its sell-by date. Bulgaria has been such a lousy pupil that the Bulgarian Government should have swallowed its pride, nominate Kuneva and pass the test with flying colours.
#2 by Clarify on January 13, 2010 - 7:31 pm
You might not be getting the point!!
Europe should put it’s “imperial and elitie’s” past and anything associated with it in the history books.
We are instead imposing on the world and on our own fellow EU Citizens a face of Europe that seems to once again present an Elite of the Elite and historically compromised sector of our society with voluminous pages of human right abuses that came with our aristocratic former imperial system.
Now this has nothing to do with the person chosen per se who is likely to be a very nice individual by all means, but rather with the symbolism attached to both the title and the background.
Did any of you reflect on the fact that in Copenhagen everybody sitting around the table among the final decision makers were all representatives of former brutalized victims of a certain Europe of the Past???
Including President Obama whose Grandfather was brutalized by us (I mean our old European Power system).
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23620970-will-obama-forgive-britain-for-his-grandfathers-torture.do
#3 by Clarify on January 13, 2010 - 9:31 pm
You might not be getting the point!!
Europe should put it’s “imperial and elitie’s” past and anything associated with it in the history books.
We are instead imposing on the world and on our own fellow EU Citizens a face of Europe that seems to once again present an Elite of the Elite and historically compromised sector of our society with voluminous pages of human right abuses that came with our aristocratic former imperial system.
Now this has nothing to do with the person chosen per se who is likely to be a very nice individual by all means, but rather with the symbolism attached to both the title and the background.
Did any of you reflect on the fact that in Copenhagen everybody sitting around the table among the final decision makers were all representatives of former brutalized victims of a certain Europe of the Past???
Including President Obama whose Grandfather was brutalized by us (I mean our old European Power system).
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23620970-will-obama-forgive-britain-for-his-grandfathers-torture.do
#4 by al on January 14, 2010 - 3:11 am
Tiresome to see the Supreme Soviet, I mean the European Parliament behaving like children. Not unexpected, however. Would love to see how things go if they were more democratic and the EP had legislative initiative given to it, and they actually had to work instead of wield a rubber stamp for the unelected Commission. Accountability to the people—what’s that?
#5 by mike turner on January 14, 2010 - 11:21 am
Oh Pedro, please don’t exhibit your ignorance, if you wish to comment on another country please at least study enough to comment from a basis of solid and factual knowledge. You make yourself look stupid.
#6 by Steve Peers on January 14, 2010 - 11:49 am
Al – if the EP were there to ‘rubber stamp’ the Commission that would mean that they either had no power over the appointment of the Commission, and/or the approval of proposed legislation, or that they were unwilling to use those powers if they had them.
Quite clearly the EP has those powers and is willing to use them – cf the appointment of the 2004 Commission and many examples in relation to legislation.
Whatever other criticisms might be made of the EP, this one is clearly not valid.
#7 by DOCM on January 14, 2010 - 2:08 pm
No matter how silly the participants, the process of hearings has great value (although three hours seems rather excessive given that the portfolios of some commissioners could be summarised on the back of an envelope). Indeed, the 2004 experience clearly weighed heavily among the EU15 but, unfortunately, and for obvious reasons – they were not there at the time – has not had the same salutary effect for the EU12.
This salutary effect expressed itself in two main ways (i) Member States picked candidates that matched the portfolios they thought they might be able to achieve and (ii) worthwhile candidates did their homework. Many of the EU12 failed on both accounts.
The politicking between political groupings, and infantile behavour by some MEPs, is simply a measure of the quality of the MEPs themselves, especially those elected on list systems who owe more to party loyalty than to competence or political popularity.
The pot, in this instance, is calling the kettle black.
#8 by zeleneye on January 15, 2010 - 5:23 pm
Yawn
#9 by David on January 16, 2010 - 6:42 pm
Maroš Šefčovič as vice-president of the European Commission would be a blessing, this man has shown time to time again that he can achieve merit, in such a position he would prove a key and valuable addition to the Commission.
#10 by Johann on January 19, 2010 - 2:47 pm
Krzyssztof is right on so many levels. The EU elite is exactly that. I can say that many of the people in the Parliament are nothing more than common thieves with immunity from prosecution.
#11 by krusty on January 20, 2010 - 12:07 am
People from Asia would not be welcome in Romania, Bulgaria, or any of the other recent EU entrants. Croatians are always giving Nazi salutes at sporting events, but that will not stop them from joining the EU really soon.