As the new European Commission settles into office, some officials fear national governments and political parties have gained too much sway inside the EU’s executive.
Many Commission insiders take pride in their institution’s status as guardian of the EU treaties. And some are alarmed that a significant number of commissioners and senior officials previously served as their country’s ambassador to the EU. As diplomats, they’re used to seeking guidance and taking orders from national governments rather than acting independently.
Some also point to the number of officials with close ties to political parties who have found jobs in commissioners’ Cabinets — the personal offices composed of top aides who play a key advisory role.
Before a new Commission takes office, governments and parties traditionally lobby hard to get people into key posts. But some say that process was much more aggressive this time around, as Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission took office last month.
“Never before did party political considerations and member states’ interests play such an important role, to the detriment of experience and unbiased professionalism,” said one EU official.
The official suggested meetings between Cabinets could be more like a gathering of EU ambassadors or the European Parliament’s Conference of Presidents, the body composed of senior MEPs, “to the detriment of supranational non-partisan EU interest.”
The process of filling Cabinets was “much more” politicized this time around, said a diplomat: “Prime ministers were calling von der Leyen and commissioners even to ask for secretary positions.”
The diplomat described an arduous process whereby some countries’ diplomatic missions to the EU made lists of which commissioners will cover policy areas that are priorities for their capitals. They then went through thousands of resumes, and interviewed candidates before making recommendations for Commission Cabinets.
Diplomatic baggage
The new Commission boasts a group of former national permanent representatives to the EU. These include commissioners Janez Lenarčič of Slovenia and Olivér Várhelyi of Hungary, both of whom moved directly from serving as their countries’ EU envoy. Denmark’s Kim Jørgensen did the same to become Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager’s head of Cabinet.
Vice President Maroš Šefčovič is now a veteran commissioner but he too previously served as Slovakia’s permanent representative to the EU.
These officials have pledged publicly to serve the whole EU rather than their home country in their new roles. They are also bound to do so under EU rules.
But that has not stopped Commission officials worrying about encroachment by national governments onto their turf, particularly as some former deputy representatives to the EU are now heads of Cabinet for multiple commissioners.
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Among them are Neil Kerr of Malta, who heads the Cabinet of Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli, and Sweden’s Åsa Webber, who performs the same role for Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson.
Other Cabinet heads also have previous experience as national diplomats, including Antoine Kasel of Luxembourg, László Kristóffy of Hungary, Maciej Golubiewski of Poland and Colin Scicluna of Malta.
German MEP Daniel Freund, a leading campaigner for political transparency, said it is quite normal for commissioners to have the freedom to choose a small number of personal advisers.
But, he said, “if their Cabinets are basically stacked with representatives of member states, even if they have left the service of the member state, I think it’s at least something to keep an eye out for.”
He added: “If the Commission becomes at the highest political level sort of an extension of the Council [of the EU], I think that’s a development that I, from the European Parliament, would at least not welcome.”
Von der Leyen lays down law
Commission President von der Leyen, for her part, has set out measures intended to ensure no country has control of any policy area. Commissioners are required to have Cabinet members representing at least three different nationalities, while the head of Cabinet or deputy head of Cabinet must be of a different nationality from the commissioner.
But such measures do little to address concerns that officials with close ties to leading politicians have also made it into influential positions in the Commission.
Staffers who worked for former European Parliament President Antonio Tajani of the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) appear to have been particularly successful in finding new jobs at the Commission.
Two of the Italian politician’s aides moved to the Cabinet of Bulgarian Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, who is in charge of innovation, youth and culture. One has gone to the office of Commission Vice President Dubravka Šuica of Croatia and the EPP, and another to the Cabinet of Hungarian Commissioner Várhelyi.
Other EPP veterans have also made the switch to Commission Cabinet posts. Dara Murphy, a former EPP election campaign director and Irish politician, is now a Cabinet expert in Gabriel’s office. And Brenda Furniere, who served as head of office for Joseph Daul, the former EPP president, is now a member of von der Leyen’s own Cabinet.
Similarly, Commission Executive First Vice President Frans Timmermans hired Diederik Samsom, the former leader of his Dutch Labor Party, as his chief of Cabinet. And Jutta Urpilainen, the Finnish commissioner for international partnerships, hired a staffer who had previously served as a political secretary at her Social Democratic Party, before spending time at the Finnish finance ministry and a consultancy.
Ultimately, of course, the Commission is a political body and it would be surprising if commissioners did not appoint some aides who share their political views and have political experience. And at least some of the new hires have experience in relevant policy areas.
It is common practice for commissioners, members of the European Parliament, and presidents of the European Council to bring along some trusted advisers to Brussels.
Nevertheless, said Michiel van Hulten, director of Transparency International EU, commissioners should make sure they’re not open to charges of cronyism.
“It makes sense for them to include one or two officials in their team (depending on the size of the cabinet) who share their political outlook and can support them on activities that are of a more party political nature,” van Hulten, a former MEP who was also chair of the Dutch Labor Party between 2005 and 2007, said in an email.
“But it’s essential that all cabinet members adhere to the same high standards that are expected of such officials, both when in office and after they leave the cabinet,” he said.
“Commissioners are free to choose the members of their own Cabinet, but in putting together their team they must make sure that appointments are made in accordance with the principles of transparency, integrity and accountability. Any appearance of nepotism should be avoided,” van Hulten added.
In response to questions from POLITICO, a spokesperson for the Commission said that “Commissioners select their Cabinet members based on merit and competencies in line with the requirements set by the EU Staff Regulations.”
“Members of the College [of Commissioners] are free to choose the best people for the position of Members of their Cabinet. To be successful, Commissioners must be able to understand the perspectives of many different types of public and private stakeholders and engage with them constructively. Therefore, their teams should combine Members with internal expertise on Commission policies and Members with external experience bringing a fresh outside perspective,” the spokesperson said.
“As for all Commission staff, Cabinet Members are bound to respect the obligations set out in the Treaties, the Staff Regulations and the internal rules of the Commission,” the spokesperson noted.
Maïa de La Baume and Zosia Wanat contributed reporting.
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