The PP resorts to the DANA to try to get the EPP to reject Teresa Ribera

Eduardo González The People’s Party has resorted to the tragedy of the DANA to try to get its colleagues in the EU, the European People's Party (EPP), to reject the European aspirations of the third vice president and responsible for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, whose examination to confirm her entry into the Commission will take place this Tuesday in the European Parliament. For his part, the head of the Executive, Pedro Sánchez, defended the management of his minister and declared that "Europe and Spain need more Teresas Ribera and fewer climate change deniers." According to sources close to the party, the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, is in personal contact with the president of the European People's Party (EPP), Manfred Weber, to convey his criticism of Ribera's actions in the DANA and, apparently, the PP and the EPP have decided to coordinate the questions of their MEPs during the 'hearing' that will take place in the European Parliament. Ribera will need the support of two thirds of the coordinators of the parliamentary commissions that examine her and, taking into account the current configuration of the European Parliament, this will imply the support not only of socialists, liberals and greens, but of the EPP itself. The Spanish PP has strongly criticised the fact that Ribera has not travelled to the area or appeared before the media or the Cortes Generales (Spanish Parliament) to explain the actions of his Ministry. In fact, sources from the EPP have acknowledged to the newspaper 'El Mundo' that they have been "struck by Ribera's disappearance in this crisis of the DANA". In addition, two agencies dependent on Teresa Ribera's Department, the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) and the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation, have been called into question for their actions during the isolated high-level depression (DANA) at the end of October, which caused more than 200 deaths in eastern Spain, mostly in the Valencian Community. At a press conference, the PP spokesman, Borja Sémper, declared on Monday that his party has said "a long time ago" that "Mrs. Ribera was not the best candidate and was not the competent person to carry out this high responsibility," and the "episodes of the last 15 days only reinforce the rejection of her profile and her way of acting." "Our colleagues in the European Union know what we think and so do all Spaniards," he added. Added to all this is a certain resistance shown in the past by the PPE to Ribera's candidacy due to both her decisions in Spain and her differences in the ecological transition strategy. This critical stance of the EPP is fuelled by the support that the minister has given to policies that some sectors, such as farmers, consider unfavourable, especially with regard to strict environmental regulations affecting agriculture and energy. In addition, her history of confrontation with major energy companies adds a complex dimension to her candidacy in Brussels, where she will have to show a balance between sustainability and economic competitiveness. Added to these reticences within the EPP will be the request to Ribera, during the ‘hearing’, to answer whether the DANA tragedy could have been avoided with better management of the riverbeds, about the delay in transmitting alerts to local authorities and why she has not travelled to the area or appeared before the media or the Cortes Generales to explain the actions of her Ministry. Pedro Sánchez At the press conference after the Council of Ministers, Pedro Sánchez supported this Monday the vice president's management in the DANA crisis and assured that "Europe and Spain need more Teresas Ribera and fewer climate change deniers." "Climate change kills, and we are seeing it, unfortunately," continued the head of the Executive, who declared that it is not a coincidence that the "deniers" of climate change have been cruel to the AEMET, "which warned about the seriousness of the climatic extremes that were being experienced as a consequence of the DANA" in the peninsula in general and in the Valencian Community in particular. Von der Leyen In mid-September, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (EPP) proposed Teresa Ribera as Executive Vice-President for Clean, Fair and Competitive Transition and declared that her responsibility will be to “lead the work to ensure that Europe is on the right path” to meet its climate goals and “decarbonise and industrialise” the European economy at the same time. Separately, during the presentation of the new commissioners in Strasbourg, Von der Leyen explained that Ribera will also be in charge of the Competition portfolio and that, in this area, her work will consist of monitoring the big technology companies and ensuring that the new European rules on digital services and markets are applied, while in terms of ecological and social transition, her main challenge will be to reconcile the climate ambitions of the European Green Pact with the demands of the agricultural sector. The Spanish government, which formalised the nomination of Teresa Ribera to join the new college of commissioners on 28 August, is confident that the current vice-president will have the support of the Socialists and the Greens, allies in the re-election of Von der Leyen for the post, in the European Parliament examination.

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