
Fire-walking EU commissioner clears path for Juncker
Slovenian commissioner Violeta Bulc has survived a three-hour hearing by MEPs, clearing the way for Juncker's team to be voted in on Wednesday.
Saturday
5th Sep 2015

Slovenian commissioner Violeta Bulc has survived a three-hour hearing by MEPs, clearing the way for Juncker's team to be voted in on Wednesday.

The hearings, the hearings. It's all about the hearings. Please make it stop. Or should that be start?

A blunder during the hearing of the Swedish commissioner shows the degree of intervention by Jean-Claude Juncker's chief of staff when drafting answers for commissioners-to-be.
Medical experts fear an organisational reshuffle in the European Commission will prioritise the economics of health care over patients' well-being.
There was outright glee in the EP on Thursday. It was time to dust off everyone’s favourite German word for pleasure in the misfortune of others.
It is heartening to see the Parliament scrutinizing potential conflicts of interest at the Commission so forcefully, but how good is the Parliament at ensuring the private interests of its own members?

Juncker had an "excellent" impression after meeting the new Slovenian commissioner candidate, Bulc, who is to take over the transport portfolio.

Juncker is to meet Slovenia's fall-back EU commission candidate, Bulc, on Tuesday, but her nomination is being contested in Ljubljana.

Slovenian prime minister Miro Cerar has nominated political novice Violeta Bulc for his EU commissioner, despite MEPs' warnings to send someone experienced to avoid a second rejection.

The withdrawal of the Slovenian commission candidate clears the way for a new nominee, but the Juncker team is still at risk of being delayed.
The European Parliament has rejected Slovenia's candidate for the new EU commission, while approving all other nominees for Juncker's team. He can now ask Ljubljana for a different name or play hardball with the MEPs.
MEPs are Wednesday to decide on the five commissioners who failed to get the green light after parliamentary hearings, with the Slovene nominee set for the axe.
The EU commission's new second-in-command, Frans Timmermans, sailed through his three-hour EU parliament hearing on Tuesday, speaking fluently in five languages and avoiding MEPs' traps.
On the last day of commissioner hearings, MEPs will decide what to do with remaining at-risk candidates after rejecting Hungary's Navracsics on culture.
The euro is not to blame for the sovereign debt crisis which forced several EU countries into multi-billion euro bailouts, the next commissioner for the single currency told MEPs Monday.
Hungary's new commissioner has distanced himself from Orban, while the UK's Hill pledged to work in the "general interest" in their bid to win over undecided MEPs.
MEPs gave French commissioner Moscovici a Tuesday deadline for extra questions on EU fiscal rules amid reports Brussels is to reject France's new budget.
France's Moscovici is to answer in writing on how he will make sure countries, including his own, will implement EU deficit-and-debt rules.
MEPs gave three commissioner nominees a Sunday-evening deadline to answer a list of near-impossible questions.

The EU's next competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, has promised further "steps" on Google amid increasing complaints against the search engine's dominant position in Europe.

A stormy EP hearing with Spain’s Canete on Wednesday ended with the Socialists seeking a delay on his approval, as part of a bigger confrontation between political groups.
MEPs have summoned the UK’s European Commission nominee, Jonathan Hill, to a second hearing amid concerns on Banking Union and Eurobonds.
The EU’s next neighbourhood commissioner was tougher than expected on Russia at his EU parliament hearing on Tuesday.

Dimitris Avramopoulos, the incoming Greek EU commissioner for migration and home affairs, wants foreign EU embassies to allow people to apply for asylum.

EU economics commissioner Pierre Moscovici will have to share his powers on national budgets with fiscal hawk and commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis.
Juncker has defended his decision to shift the health technology and pharmaceutical policy services back to the more lobby-friendly internal market directorate.
The EU's likely next trade commissioner has signalled that controversial investor protection rules could ultimately be left out of a US free trade deal.

The EU’s incoming digital commissioner, Gunther Oettinger, emphasised infrastructure as key to Europe’s so-called digital economy at a hearing with MEPs on Monday.

EU commissioner for home affairs Cecilia Malmstrom on Monday rejected allegations she colluded with the Americans to water down EU data protection rules.
Spain's Canete has said he wants a mandatory lobbyists' register, while Sweden's Malmstrom wants more transparency on US trade in written answers ahead of EP hearings.