Suspenceful vote on the new College expected on Wednesday after Fitto and Ribera passed the test

Political turmoil in the European Parliament keeps the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on the edge of her seat. The EPP, socialists, and the liberals affiliated with the Renew group in the European Parliament went close to the stroke of midnight to lay down their arms and end their skirmishes. The deal they sealed in the afternoon based on a nine-point declaration was inspired by the political program that accredited von der Leyen in July with a green light for a second mandate at the helm of the European Commission.

The text agreed does not draw any red lines but merely reaffirms the will to cooperate constructively between all ‘pro-EU, pro-rule of law, and pro-Ukraine’ political families.

The dispute flared up again when the EPP later proposed to put into writing the request for the Spanish candidate for the Commission vice presidency, Teresa Ribera, to resign if involved in judicial proceedings for her responsibility in the Dana flooding in Spain, which is considered to have caused at least 217 deaths. The S&D and Renew group threatened not to support the Italian candidate Raffaele Fitto. Still, the socialist leadership then broke the deadlock contenting itself by including an addendum in the minorities’ letters accompanying the approval of the ECR-affiliated designated commissioner.

The socialists and liberals wrote that they “do not approve the decision to assign Fitto the post of Vice-President” and demanded guarantees that he would be “independent of his national government.”
The showdown is now expected to occur next Thursday, November 27th. The European Parliament meeting in plenary is called to vote on the College of Commissioners.

After being iced out of the negotiations, the Greens expressed their disappointment after the three pro-European leaders did not agree to alter Fitto’s portfolio. The group’s final decision on supporting the new College of Commissioner will be announced on Monday at the end of a special meeting among the 53 members. The Group Bas Eikhout and Terry Reintke co-chairs will meet von der Leyen the day after.

Many political analysts fear that without the support of the Greens and some delegations sitting among the Socialist – first and foremost the French and the Dutch, with the Germans teetering – von der Leyen could go far from the 401 deputies-based votes gained last July to win a second mandate.

The Conservatives and Reformists members will be free to vote. The Italian delegation celebrated the “historic achievement for Italy” given “the very important responsibilities and supervision roles” Fitto is charged with. A spokesperson for the ECR group said that respecting the views of the different national delegations will guide the vote. “Based on the dynamic we saw before, during, and after the hearings, we do not foresee any obstacles on our side to the final approval of the Commission in Strasbourg next week” he added.

The group of the Patriots for Europe (PfE) announced that they would vote against it, as the members of The Left did. However, it is still being determined whether the Hungarian delegation participating in the new College with a party colleague will vote in favor.

Viktor Orban’s loyalist, Oliver Varhelyi, saw the badges on reproductive rights, mental health, pandemic management, and antimicrobial resistance disappear from his portfolio related to Health and Animal Welfare. The Parliament recommended that von der Leyen include social rights and quality work in the portfolio of Romanian Vice-President Roxana Minzatu. The rest of vice-presidents – Stéphane Séjourné, Kaja Kallas, Henna Virkkunen – received also greenlight after being tossed into the cross-vetoes confrontation.

Von der Leyen was very proud of her 401 votes in July, and she counts on the same figures to make the new College take office on December 1. Should she fail to pass the absolute majority threshold (361), it would be a cry of alarm.