Will Brunner fail?

Hearing of the commissioners turns into a political power game

Brunner is in danger of failing in the first round

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

Finance Minister Magnus Brunner is facing a difficult evening. He has to attend the hearing of MEPs on Tuesday and it is unlikely to be a walk in the park. According to the "Krone" newspaper, Brunner is in danger of failing the first round, which requires a two-thirds majority.

According to reports, the right-wing parliamentary groups want to vote against Brunner. The hearing will take place in the 75-member Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. A majority of 49 votes is required. The vote on Brunner is part of a larger power poker for all 26 commissioners nominated by the member states.

Right-wing group could decide
In any case, Brunner can count on the votes of his own conservative EPP group and the Liberals. The Social Democrats are "cooking their own soup" because they want to make sure that their Commissioner candidates get enough votes, according to an insider. However, Brunner would also need MEPs from the Greens or the right-wing ECR group, which includes the Italian Fratelli d'Italia of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, to achieve the required majority. These are shaky, according to reports from Brussels.

Von der Leyen surprised by appointing Brunner as Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs

(Bild: APA/AFP/JOHN THYS)

Three candidates failed in 2019
The hearings in the respective specialist committees began on Monday and will last over a week. Voting takes place immediately after each hearing. However, not by all committee members, but initially only by the group chairmen, who have different numbers of votes depending on the size of the group. In any case, the hearings are not a foregone conclusion; in the first term of office of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in 2019, the parliamentarians rejected three candidates.

In addition to Brunner, one of the four vice presidents could also fail, according to reports. One controversial candidate is Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, who, as a left-wing climate protection politician, is responsible for the important area of competition and is set to become a kind of EU climate chief. It is quite possible that the flood disaster in her home country will be a stumbling block for her.

The Spaniard Teresa Ribera Rodríguez

(Bild: © European Union 2023 – Source : EP/ Emilie GOMEZ)

She will be the penultimate to be questioned next week. Only then will a decision be made on how to proceed with failed candidates. There are two possibilities: A second hearing, after which only a simple majority is required. Or it can be agreed that written answers submitted later will be sufficient for the appointment.

Border protection and transit agreement
In terms of content, Brunner's hearing will focus on external border protection, third country and transit state agreements, Schengen, counter-terrorism and asylum issues. The fact that Brunner was nominated for Home Affairs and Migration was a surprise and did not meet with everyone's approval, as the Vorarlberg native had not previously had much to do with this topic. The 52-year-old also recently caused a surprise himself by announcing that he is in favor of admitting Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area. As is well known, this is currently being blocked by Austria.