In his efforts to fit the pieces of the new Commission’s sudoku, Ursula von der Leyen is considering resorting to a highly surprising move. The president, who was re-elected in July for a second term from 2024 to 2029, is considering awarding Teresa Ribera the Competition portfolio in order to distance it from Ecological Transitionwhich is the destination that the third vice president wants in her jump to Brussels, According to the newspaper Financial Times.
The objective of this totally unexpected exchange would be that the European People’s Party (EPP) takes control of the European Green Deal. The Popular Party does not want to leave the ecological transition in the hands of Ribera. They consider it a “climate activist” whose management could aggravate the rejection that these policies generate among farmers and among a large number of their voters, says the FTThe European Green Deal has become one of the bêtes noires of all the far-right forces in the EU. With Ribera in this portfolio, the EPP, the liberals and Giorgia Meloni’s group could vote against the college of commissioners, parliamentary sources explain.
In exchange for giving up on Ecological Transition, Ribera would take one of the most coveted portfolios in Brussels, the Competition Commission, which has direct powers to fine monopolistic abuses by large platforms, veto mergers and authorize or not public aid to companies. He would thus follow in the footsteps of his party colleague Joaquín Almunia.who was Vice-President of the Commission and responsible for Competition between 2010 and 2014 under José Manuel Durao Barroso.
[Von der Leyen mantiene la presión para una Comisión paritaria: “Si no se pide, no se consigue”]
The current incumbent, Danish liberal Margrethe Vestagerhas earned a reputation as a relentless scourge of American technology. According to the FTRibera’s arrival at Competition would translate into a relaxation of competition rules to facilitate the creation of European champions or to give more leeway to public aid to companies.
In any case, the third vice-president had always defended what she wanted in the new Commission a portfolio that fits your area of expertisethat is, all policies that have to do with climate change and energy. In fact, all the predictions that had been published until now placed her as the Executive Vice President responsible for Ecological, Social and Digital TransitionOne of the latest leaks awarded the Competition portfolio to Austrian Magnus Brunner, former Finance Minister.
Both the Community Executive and Pedro Sánchez’s Government have avoided confirming this information. “What I have seen is that there have been different pools, different assessments or suggestions that have appeared in the newspapers, but I think that at this time we have to relax.“Ribera herself told reporters last Wednesday in Brussels, after meeting face to face with Von der Leyen.
If the change of pieces is confirmed, Ribera would have to take a crash course in Competition policy, area in which there is no record of her expertiseThe third vice-president must pass the European Parliament’s scrutiny at a hearing in October, and her lack of sufficient knowledge of her portfolio is one of the main factors that could lead Parliament to reject her.
The other problem that could hinder this exchange is the balance of power that allowed Von der Leyen to be re-elected in July. The president won the support of a large coalition of the Popular Party, the Socialists and the Liberals, which was joined at the last minute by the Greens. The Greens have always supported Ribera as vice president for ecological transition because they see her as a guarantee that there will be no turning back on climate policies. If Von der Leyen moves her into another portfolio, she could lose her support when it comes to ratifying the College of Commissioners.
The Commission President seems to be trying out all possible combinations to fit her team together. A very complex job because she has to find portfolios for 26 commissioners (one per Member State) and respect all geographical, political and gender balances. Ribera is the main representative of the European socialists in the Community Executive And that is why it has been clear from the beginning that he would have an important vice presidency.
Von der Leyen has been summoned by the European Parliament Wednesday, September 11th at 8:00 a.m. to report on the makeup of her new team. That is when the president is expected to announce the distribution of portfolios and therefore Ribera’s position, although her spokesperson has hinted that this could be delayed.
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