Welcome to Better Europe’s weekly update on EU Affairs.
VDL ASSEMBLES HER NEW GENDER-IMBALANCED COLLEGE
Not everyone relaxed during the annual summer break. Ursula von der Leyen, President-elect of the European Commission, has been busy asking Member States to put forward their candidates so she could assemble the European equivalent of Avengers – the College of Commissioners. Based on the proposed contenders, the incoming Commission is likely to be heavily EPP- (>10 candidates) and men-biased (17 male Commissioners). The gender imbalance in particular may pose a problematic aspect as under their internal rules, MEPs are required to consider this in their scrutiny process. The Parliament votes on the College as a whole, after grilling each Commissioner-designate in a hearing organised by one or two relevant committees. The timeline for the much-awaited hearings is still uncertain, with the starting date of 23 or 30 September now likely to being likely pushed to October. This puts 1 November, the official start of the new Commission, at risk.
EP COMMITTEES RESUME WORK, FOCUS ON HEARINGS AND BUDGET PREPARATIONS
After a five-week summer recess, the new European Parliament reconvened in Brussels this week, officially launching the legislative work for the new term. Much of this ‘back-to-school’ phase was dedicated to organizational matters. The week also saw the resumption of committee hearings featuring external experts and representatives from European institutions, addressing pressing political priorities such as the alignment of international sustainability reporting standards, the response to the ongoing mpox outbreak, and the revision of the EU’s toy safety rules. Most committee chairs also announced a preliminary list of own-initiative reports (INIs), which will keep MEPs busy waiting for the Commission hearings to start. Additionally, several committees voted on their contributions to the Budget Committee’s draft report for the 2025 EU budget. This report will be debated in plenary in October, with the goal of reaching an agreement with Member States by year-end.
DRAGHI OUTLINES EUROPE’S CHALLENGES, NOW SHOW US THE MONEY
Mario Draghi finally gave some insights into his long-awaited – and much-delayed – report on Europe’s competitiveness this week. Speaking to EU diplomats and parliamentary group leaders, the former ECB President and party-neutral Italian prime minister laid out the main challenges facing Europe’s economy: high energy prices, slow innovation, a lack of digitalisation, and the need to strengthen the defence sector. Despite the hype, Draghi’s presentation did not contain any concrete recommendations and some have already raised concerns that it is too focused on business interests and overlooks social and environmental issues. The report will be officially published on 9 September and presented to the College of Commissioners the following Wednesday. It calls for a “radical change” in Europe’s approach, with heavy involvement of the private sector and an unprecedented cooperation between EU institutions. Requested by the Commission’s President, Ursula von der Leyen, the report could shape the EU’s economic strategy for the next five years and influence on the next Commission’s agenda. However, there’s one major gap: Draghi didn’t explain how all of this would be funded. This hasn’t gone unnoticed. Both Greens co-chair Bas Eickhout and EPP leader Manfred Weber criticised the lack of financial details as a major omission in Draghi’s presentation.