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EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen faces mounting criticism from Luxembourg's political stakeholders over her new leadership team, as disputes arise regarding gender representation and the selection of Luxembourg's EU Commissioner.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set to officially present her new team on Tuesday, and the selection process has drawn significant criticism from Luxembourg's stakeholders. The socialists demand greater representation and want Nicolas Schmit of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) to be named Commissioner for the Grand Duchy, not Christophe Hansen of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) whose name has been put forward by the Luxembourg government.
There has also been criticism over the lack of female representation among commissioners.
After France's EU Commissioner Thierry Breton resigned unexpectedly on Monday, accusing von der Leyen of pushing him out in a dramatic dispute just a day before she unveils her new leadership team, the Luxembourg bureau for the EU Parliament convened a press conference. Here, Luxembourg's six MEPs were given a chance to outline their political priorities.
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However, only four of them faced the press in the end. Both lawmakers of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) – Christophe Hansen and Isabel Wiseler-Lima – were absent, as announced by bureau chief Christoph Schröder: "Mr Hansen is currently busy preparing for another mandate for which he was proposed. I also have to excuse Ms Wiseler-Lima, who is attending another event."
Dissatisfaction around the selection first arose when Hansen was retained as candidate for commissioner in the coalition agreement signed by the CSV and the Democratic Party (DP). MEP Charles Goerens of the DP expressed doubt that the situation will resolve easily: "I wouldn't bet on the commission being confirmed in its current form."
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Socialists feel disadvantaged by the European People's Party (EPP) as only four out of 27 Commissioners are socialists, MEP Marc Angel of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) pointed out. He further criticised the lack of female representation.
"Ursula von der Leyen has gotten herself into a messy situation, and she needs to get out of it by herself. We clearly said that if she wants us to support the entire commission, then we need a better gender balance. And we want that the principle of lead candidates to be respected", Angel stated in front of the press. The MEP firmly asserts that Nicolas Schmit, the socialist candidate, should become Luxembourg's commissioner, ruling out the possibility of von der Leyen's EPP colleague Hansen taking the role.
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MEP Fernand Kartheiser of the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) expressed that he considers both disputes unnecessary. Regarding the candidate for commissioner, he emphasised that it is the responsibility of governments, not the European Parliament, to propose a candidate. He also noted that there are no rules mandating gender balance on the commission or requiring that lead candidates be respected.
The Greens (Déi Gréng), represented at the briefing by MEP Tilly Metz, shared criticism of von der Leyen's new team, particularly due to the Italian candidate, Raffaele Fitto: "To name a person vice commission president who belongs to the same party as [Italy PM] Meloni, that is a real slap in the face!"
Von der Leyen's team is made up of 11 women and 16 men. Even Breton's recent resignation did little to alter the gender balance, as France FM Stéphane Séjourné is to take his place.
The rocky situation has certainly managed to draw away attention from the numerous challenges that the EU faces all around. This includes the European Central Bank's (ECB) reform initiative to increase annual investments in the internal market to €800 billion, a strategy designed to maintain competitiveness with China and the US.
According to Goerens, this push will be a major priority in the years to come: "We are being squeezed between Chinese dumping practices and US protectionism. The European Union is slowly but steadily starting to 'antagonise', as Mario Draghi put it in his report. That is why we need significant investments. [...] But how do we get to €800 billion annually? There is little left to gain from taxes."
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Goerens emphasised the need to incentivise investors with compelling opportunities in Europe to strengthen the capital market union. Citing the Draghi report, he highlighted that Europe currently loses an estimated €300 billion annually to the US due to their more attractive investment opportunities.
Angel pointed out that another challenge is the AI frontier, which he believes has created the need for new labour regulations. Kartheiser, for his part, wants to ensure that Luxembourg MEPs will be able to address the EU Parliament in Luxembourgish. Metz announced that she seeks to reduce the number of livestock transports and exports.
