It seems that the white smoke on the new European Commission is a little closer. Populares, socialists and liberals advance a three-way agreement in the European Parliament. to unblock the new Executive of Von der Leyen, in such a way that Teresa Ribera is given the go-ahead as new vice-president, as well as the other five candidates who are also waiting for the ‘yes’, as well as the Hungarian commissioner, Oliver Valerhyi. The pact “in writing” will also serve as a guide for the entire legislature in the European Parliament.
Parliamentary sources consulted by 20minutos point out that the final signature may Wednesday, after Ribera appears in Congress. to explain her management of the DANA, something that was a demand of the Spanish PP, until now closed to support “a European Commission that includes” the still vice-president of the Government, even if that meant going against Von der Leyen herself. The green light to all the vice presidents en bloc, as well as Valerhyi will allow the Commission en bloc to be voted on in the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg the week of November 25.as planned.
The main doubt lies in whether this pact should be in writing or not, and the sources assure that it would be a “road map”. for the entire legislature, so that the centrist bloc in the European Parliament can be maintained. This step comes after several days of some clash of arguments between Brussels and Madrid; of PPE and S&D on one side and PP and PSOE on the other, almost all around Ribera but also regarding the Italian Raffaele Fitto.
“The condition is that she resign if a judge indicts her.”parliamentary sources told 20minutesemphasizing that this is the premise they give to support Ribera. “We doubt that she will be prosecuted and given the speed at which the Spanish justice system works, it would be in more than 5 years and she would not even be a commissioner”, they add. The still vice-president of the Government, on the other hand, continues to have the resounding ‘no’ of the Spanish PP to be the new vice-president of the Community Executive. “There is no possibility that the Popular Party will support a community government in which Teresa Ribera will be after everything that has happened in these two weeks,” said Dolors Montserrat, in the line also marked by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who went so far as to ask Pedro Sánchez for “responsibility” and the proposal of another candidate.
If Ribera does not withdraw (or is withdrawn), the Spanish Popular Party wants to force “a secret ballot” of Ribera so that each party can take a position.. This is also complex because the idea is still that the six vice presidents of the new Commission are voted en bloc. Therein lies the game of cross vetoes: if the Spanish one falls, the Social Democrats do not give their support to the Fitto, so the whole College of Commissioners would go down. That would be the most dramatic scenario. In the PP, in fact, there are some voices that believe that Ribera will not pass the cut “in any case”, but the subsequent domino effect would complicate things.
All in all, the EPP seems to be in a more ‘constructive’ position than the Spanish PP at this point. The arguments of EU sources suggest that if Ribera accepts the conditions, everything will go ahead.. On the other hand, Genoa trusts that Ribera will fall even if it means going against Von der Leyen. On the progressive side, practically the same thing is happening, but in the opposite direction: the Socialist MEPs insist that “if Teresa falls, the whole Commission falls”, while Moncloa already leaves the message that their votes can go to Fitto if that helps Ribera also have the yes. This also involves the other commissioner-designate of the radical right, the Hungarian Valerhyi, who is also waiting for the mess to be resolved.
“The EU cannot be plunged into instability with short-sighted cross vetoes.. To protect Europe, out of responsibility, it is essential to have a Commission in place, which does not depend on the maneuvers of Trump and the ultra-right,” explained sources in the Spanish government. The fact that the six vice-presidents of the Commission are voted as a block, however, does not ensure anything; the veto to Fitto comes because there is a veto to Ribera, not the other way around. In fact, at S&D assume that the Italian made a good hearing, so right now he is simply hostage to the Spanish entanglement. All this leads one to think that removing Ribera’s veto would imply removing Fitto’s, but in the reverse direction the same thing would not necessarily happen. All in all, this ‘hijacking’ of the Von der Leyen 2.0 zero Commission is close to being resolved.