Top positions for party colleagues
Personality puts von der Leyen in trouble
April 4, 2024, 5:04 p.m
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Shortly before the European elections, the President of the EU Commission is under pressure: Has von der Leyen given a well-paid commission position to a friend from the CDU? At least that’s what several well-known commissioners accuse her of. The European Parliament is also protesting.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is coming under increasing pressure over the appointment of her CDU party colleague Markus Pieper to a well-paid commission position. His appointment as SME representative raised “questions about the transparency and impartiality” of the process, according to a letter from four EU commissioners to von der Leyen, which was available to the AFP news agency. MEPs from several political groups called for a new edition of the selection process.
MPs from the Social Democrats, Liberals, Greens and Left accuse von der Leyen that “the candidate’s party affiliation may have played a decisive role” in the appointment. Green MEP Daniel Freund said on
The previous CDU MEP Pieper was appointed the EU Commission’s SME representative at the end of January, just over a month before von der Leyen’s election as the top candidate of the European People’s Party (EPP) for the European elections. According to information from commission circles, Pieper was shortlisted against two opposing candidates, even though he had performed significantly worse in the application criteria.
Opposing candidates were expected to have better chances
The EU Commission must also fill its positions with as much gender equality as possible; applicants from underrepresented member states receive preference. As a male applicant from Germany, Pieper would have fewer chances than his opposing candidates, the Czech Martina Dlabajová and the Swede Anna Stellinger.
Doubts about the procedure are now also coming from the Commission itself: The college must “discuss together a response to the allegations and possible effects on the next steps in the recruitment process,” says a letter from Commissioners Thierry Breton, Nicolas Schmit and Paolo Gentiloni and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
Von der Leyen will “of course take part in the debate,” said her spokesman in Brussels. However, the Commission President has “full confidence” that Pieper’s employment is legal. The spokesman emphasized that the appointment was “just like any other appointment process”.
Parliament calls for the decision to be reversed
The dispute comes during the election campaign before the European elections at the beginning of June. The Green MP Freund suspected that the occupation was possibly a “favor” from von der Leyen to a critical party colleague. It was said from those close to Internal Market Commissioner Breton that he had campaigned for the appointment of the Czech Dlabajová from his liberal party family. Nicolas Schmit, one of the signatories of the letter from the Commission, is also the Social Democrats’ top candidate.
The European Parliament will consider Pieper’s appointment again next week. MPs from the Social Democrats, Liberals, Greens and Left submitted a motion calling on the Commission to reverse the decision. Instead, the authority must “initiate a truly transparent and open process for the selection of the EU SME representative”. The motion will be voted on in a plenary session on Thursday. Markus Pieper did not initially respond to inquiries from the AFP news agency.