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EU: the headache of future European Commissioners

In Brussels, the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament rejected the candidatures of two future Commissioners presented respectively by Hungary and Romania. This rejection puts the future President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in difficulty.

In the past, there have been candidates who have been stalled or have been forced to change their portfolio, but it was at the end of the confirmation hearings where the future Commissioners meet before the parliamentary committees dealing with the file for which they are present. candidates. What happened on Monday is a new procedure that implies that the Legal Affairs Commission gives the green light to all candidates before their hearing after peeling their declaration of interests. And the Committee on Legal Affairs found that Hungary's László Trócsányi and Romania's Rovana Plumb were unfit to serve as European commissioners because of a conflict of interest. For Rovana Plumb, two dubious loans are in the sights and for László Trócsányi these are his links with his former law firm.

The two candidates recaled by this parliamentary committee have no chance to become commissioners

Their applications are dead or almost, although in theory, the slots for their auditions were maintained by the European Parliament, namely this Tuesday evening at 18:30 for László Trócsányi and Wednesday morning at 9:00 for Rovana Plumb. But in reality, the hearings of confirmations concerning them are suspended since the President of the European Parliament David Sassoli officially informed the future President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen of the verdict or, more exactly, of the recommendation issued by the legal affairs. Ursula von der Leyen has yet to formally notify the European Parliament that she decides to withdraw these two candidates, but that does not seem to be in any doubt at the moment.

Towards a quick replacement of the two candidates from Bucharest and Budapest

Because they endanger the entire Commission since the European Parliament has the power to reject only the entire college. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has already announced that Olivér Várhelyi, Hungary's Permanent Representative to the European Union, will be nominated, and although Romania announces consultations between the President and the Prime Minister, could do the same and propose his counterpart Luminiţa Odobescu.

Confirmation hearings before the European Parliament have already begun

Three candidates have already passed, three outgoing commissioners, the first of which was Slovakia's Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, himself a former permanent ambassador for his country to the EU. With the withdrawal of László Trócsányi and Rovana Plumb, and since the Polish and Belgian candidates have seen the threats to their candidacy disappear, the only candidate to pose a problem would be the Frenchwoman Sylvie Goulard. Right-wing and left-wing groups that have each lost a candidate may well feel that the period of malicious neutrality is over, that hostilities are open and that there is no reason to refrain from attacking to the French candidate of the centrist group.

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