Ursula von der Leyen announced today the distribution of portfolios in the next European Commission.< /p>
Here is my first reaction. This is what is written on "Facebook" the Bulgarian MEP Christian Vigenin.
The Bulgarian representative received a modest portfolio, as we expected - startups, research and innovation. Bulgaria as a country is in the queue in this sphere, it is not clear how this portfolio corresponds to the expertise and experience of the Bulgarian candidate-commissioner (after all, a former minister of justice and foreign affairs), it seems von der Leyen wondered what to give her and has been riding on momentum since the last term. The spring of Maria Gabriel and Iliana Ivanova was similar. I hope the lack of expertise does not cause problems during Zaharieva's hearing.
In comparison, for the first time a Romanian European Commissioner will be the Executive Vice-President (Roxana Manzatu will be responsible for people, education, social rights and skills).
The future commission will be dominated by representatives of the EPP and those from the extreme right. For the first time, a representative of the ECR (European Party of Conservatives and Reformers) was given the position of executive vice-president - Raffaele Fito from the party of Giorgia Meloni in Italy. To give the portfolio of cohesion policy to a representative of a far-right party, after last term it was the portfolio of a Portuguese socialist, may turn out to be a rather bad sign for the future of the cohesion policy, so important for Bulgaria.
It is puzzling how exactly the portfolios will be distributed between some of the commissioners - there will be an executive vice-president for clean, fair and competitive transition (Spain), but also a commissioner for climate and clean growth (Netherlands), as well as a commissioner for the environment and the competitive circular economy (Sweden). At the same time, there will be an Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy (France), but also a Commissioner for Economy and Productivity (Latvia), not to mention the Commissioners for Finance and Budget. With so many people responsible for the EU's economy, we can only hope that the fairy tale "many grandmothers - weak baby" does not come true.
After yesterday's resignation of the previous French commissioner, Thierry Breton, the feeling is getting stronger that Ursula von der Leyen prefers to surround herself with people who will not challenge her and will agree with her every decision. I'm not surprised, but it's a shortcut to failure.
The hearings of the candidates for commissioners in the relevant parliamentary committees are coming up next month. It remains to be seen whether the European Parliament will put up with each and every proposal or show character.