Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. PARLIAMENT HESITATES TO PUT THE HEAT ON AT THE COMMISSION GRILL As quite a few naïve Europeans woke up on Wednesday with Trump going to Make America Great Again, the Parliament relentlessly continued its once-in-the-cycle Commissioner-designate grilling with not a single Commissioner replaced so far. Since 2004's dismissal of openly homophobic designate Rocco Buttiglione, the Parliament has always required replacements, further written questionnaires or re-exams. If the most controversial Commissioners make it through next week, this session would confirm indeed that the Parliament's institutional control over Member States has been seriously reduced. Perhaps Hungarian Olivér Várhelyi might see his portfolio reduced as apparently, he doesn't understand that women’s health is an EU competence and he also inconveniently "knows best" a controversial…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. GEORGIAN ELECTIONS FURTHER COMPLICATE EU ACCESSION Following Georgia’s legislative elections on 28 October, the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory with 54% of the vote. Amid reports of vote-buying, irregularities, and polling station violence, international observers including the OSCE declared the elections neither free nor fair. Pro-European opposition leaders, led by President Salome Zourabichvili, condemned the outcome as fraudulent and called for public protest. In a controversial move, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, visited Tbilisi to endorse Georgian Dream’s vision of “pro-European” politics, which he framed as a commitment to peace and a rejection of Western calls to confront Russia. EU leaders, however, voiced alarm over Georgia’s democratic backsliding which could lead to a slowdown of the EU accession process, and…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. FUTURE COMMISSIONERS ANSWER MEP QUESTIONS Over the past week, nominees for the next Commission have been working with their transition teams to answer the difficult and not so difficult questions from MEPs. Over 400 pages detailing their plans and priorities were published by the Parliament earlier this week. Most responses avoid controversy and address well-known EU priorities in a high-level and horizontal way. The answers of the Commissioners-designate however to provide some more detail compared to the mission letters they received from Ursula von der Leyen, which mostly outlined broad political goals without detailed plans of action. The real commitments will therefore have to come during the physical hearings, which will start on 4 November. MEPs will use the written input…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. PARLIAMENT CONSIDERS DELAY OF DEFORESTATION RULES Facing pressure from EU Member States, international trade partners, and industry stakeholders, the European Commission has proposed a one-year delay to the deforestation-free products regulation (EUDR). Originally set to apply as of December 2024, large companies would now have until December 2025 to comply, with small businesses still getting an additional six months. The extension reflects concerns over the readiness of economic stakeholders, many of whom have struggled due to a lack of support and guidance from the Commission. In a heated parliamentary debate on 14 October, conservative and far-right MEPs welcomed the delay as they see the regulation is overly burdensome and called for stronger legal clarity. Conversely, liberal and progressive voices sharply criticized…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. ORBÁN'S SPEECH IN PARLIAMENT SPARKS CONFRONTATION WITH VON DER LEYEN During a tense Parliament plenary session on 9 October, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán outlined his priorities for Hungary's European Presidency which started in July, emphasizing stricter migration controls, energy cost management, and boosting competitiveness. He called for a ceasefire in Ukraine, as a military victory for Kyiv is unattainable in his view. While his rhetoric aimed to position Hungary as a stabilizing force, it drew immediate backlash from a large part of the hemicycle. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen challenged Orbán's stance, sharply criticizing his close relationship with Russia and accusing him of undermining EU solidarity in support of Ukraine. In a display of support, far-right MEPs rallied behind…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. EUROPEAN COMMISSION HEARINGS: LET THE POWER GAMES BEGIN After von der Leyen’s proposal for a new Commission in September, the Parliament has started preparing for the hearings of the future Commissioners, expected to take place from 4 to 12 November in Brussels. The timetable for the three hour hearings was confirmed this week: the portfolio-related written questions will be submitted to the candidates by 10 October, with answers due by 22 October. This will allow MEPs to thoroughly scrutinize the Commissioners' qualifications, and best prepare their questions for the oral exam. The hearings will be a key political moment for the new Parliament, as it will be one of the few moments where MEPs can influence the Commission’s policy agenda of…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs.  GERMANY PUTS DEMANDS ON THE COMMISSION AMID CHAOS AT HOME One would think that German politicians would be too busy with domestic issues to make demands at EU level, given that the extreme-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) for the first time won the regional elections in Thuringia. Yet, the German coalition government made an effort to express discontent when German Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen nominated Italian far-right minister Raffaele Fitto as one of six future European Commission Executive Vice Presidents. At the same time, the German government saw no problem in joining Italy’s for a revision of the CO2 reduction targets for cars, and in requesting a six-month delay of the EU Deforestation regulation.  While Chancellor Scholz’s Sozialdemokratische Partei…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. NEW COLLEGE OF COMMISSIONERS PREPARES FOR THE GRILL A week later than planned, European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen presented her team and their respective portfolios. Von der Leyen designated six Executive Vice-Presidents, four women and two men, potentially to reduce criticism on the lack of gender balance in the full college. The six Vice-President also seem to be more balanced than the overall college in terms of party affiliations, with two Socialists and Democrats, two liberals, one EPP and one European Conservatives and Reformists Vice-President. Due to changes in titles and roles, confusions and questions are bound to arise on the practical arrangements for certain Commissioners-designate. How will Belgium’s Hadja Lahbib, Commissioner-designate for Preparedness and Crisis Management and Equality,…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. DRAGHI'S MEGA-INVESTMENT PLAN TALK OF THE TOWN IN BRUSSELS Mario Draghi’s €800 billion investment plan, unveiled this Monday, has set off a storm of reactions across Europe. The former ECB chief is advocating for a hefty annual boost—equivalent to 4.4-4.7% of EU GDP—to tackle decarbonisation, digitalisation and defence. His aim: to help Europe catch up with other global heavyweights like China and the US. With no surprises, the centre-right side of the political spectrum has been quite satisfied with the report, praising it for its concrete pathways for solutions. Green advocates, on the other hand, raise serious concerns amid the already environmentally unfriendly political atmosphere. CAN Europe criticised the report for neglecting crucial elements and being too heavily focused on industrial…

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…