The European Parliament faction, Renew Europe, which consists of Ireland’s Fianna Fáil party, is set to elect its proposal for the European Commission’s (EC) presidency next week. This group of 108 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), including Irish members such as Barry Andrews and Billy Kelleher, will gather at an annual congress in Brussels over two days to select one of three nominees:
– Sandro Gozi, aged 55, has been an Italian MEP since 2020, appointed by French president Emmanuel Macron’s La Republique en Marche (LREM) after serving as a project manager in 2019 in the French premier’s cabinet. He is also the secretary general of the European Democratic Party.
– Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, aged 64, is a member of Germany’s Free Democratic Party, a Bundestag participant since 2017, and the parliament’s defence committee’s chairperson.
– Valérie Hayer, aged 37, is a French solicitor and has been an MEP since 2019. She is also the president of the Renew Europe grouping in the parliament.
Barry Andrews, an MEP from Dublin’s Fianna Fáil, commented that while the matter hasn’t been broached at the party level, he will cast his vote for Ms Hayer, describing her as a “very solid” candidate.
Negotiations regarding the new EC will begin on June 10th, post the European elections that are set to occur across the EU from June 6th to 9th. The final decision will be made by the leaders of the member states, but the successful nominee will require a parliamentary majority.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael’s European People’s Party (EPP) group has already endorsed the current president Ursula von der Leyen for another five-year term last week. Her committed support for Israel’s right to self-defence, particularly in the aftermath of the October 7th Hamas attack, has however triggered objections from opposing factions who are against her second term nomination.
Under the Spitzenkandidat method, if any of Renew Europe’s three parties gains a majority coalition post the elections, it gains a mandate for the presidency. Nevertheless, this process was overlooked by EU leaders in 2019 when they picked Ms von der Leyen.
Billy Kelleher, MEP for Fianna Fáil in South Ireland, emphasised that governmental appointments of commissioners are typically influenced by the appointing government’s ideological position and political plans, and hence the commission may not invariably reflect the makeup of the parliament. The process of selecting a nominee does offer the opportunity, however, to provide a recognisable face that embodies the ethos of the campaign.
The Green Party’s EFA group, which includes seventy MEPs, has put forward two candidates for nomination. These are: Bas Eickhout, a 47-year-old Dutch representative of the GreenLeft who has held a position as an MEP since 2009, and Terry Reintke, a 36-year-old member of the German Greens who has been an MEP since 2014.
Contrarily, Ciaran Cuffe, a Dublin-based MEP for the Green Party, voiced criticism of the current EC president, arguing that her staunch support of Israel’s actions in Gaza has tarnished the EU’s image. He dismissed her as entirely unsatisfactory based on this standpoint.
Meanwhile in the Dáil, the Tánaiste, Micheál Martin, affirming that Ireland would undertake comprehensive consultations on an internal level as well as with European allies before finalising the nominee they would back in the European Council.
Matt Carthy, foreign affairs representative for Sinn Féin, echoed Cuffe’s sentiment, suggesting that the EC president’s stance has lessened the EU’s potential to have a positive influence in the Middle East.
Contrarily, Martin expressed that she altered her stance on the UN agency Unrwa funding, pledging €50 million and publically acknowledged the imperativeness of safeguarding lives in Gaza and enabling humanitarian support in November. He further pointed out how commendably President von der Leyen safeguarded Irish interests during Brexit and displayed exceptional leadership and support for Ireland amidst the Covid crisis.