Ane Barcos/Aquí Europa
The European People’s Party (EPP), which on Tuesday blocked the approval of Teresa Ribera’s candidacy for executive vice-president and European Commissioner for Fair Transition and Competitiveness, has opened the door this Wednesday to allow her appointment, under certain conditions.
Popular sources indicated that the EPP would be willing to support Ribera if she agrees to resign if she is charged for her management of the recent DANA (Spanish acronymous for ‘Isolated High Level Depression‘) in Valencia, and if she first appears in Congress to offer explanations about her performance.
The conditions imposed by the EPP, currently the largest political force in the European Parliament, could thus unblock the evaluation of the six candidates for executive vice-presidencies, who were left in an impasse after Tuesday’s sessions. The insistence of the Spanish Popular Party on the lack of suitability of Ribera to take up the post, due to her role in the management of the floods in Valencia as Minister of Ecological Transition, led the EPP to temporarily oppose the approval of her candidacy, postponing the process until next week.
Faced with this stalemate, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has decided to take action on the matter, calling a meeting with the leaders of the Popular Party, the Socialists and the Liberals, with the aim of facilitating a resolution and advancing the appointment process.
This opening of the EPP towards Ribera is also linked to a broader agreement with other political forces in the European Parliament. Both Renew Europe and S&D will have to, in exchange for the EPP’s commitment to support Ribera, give their approval to the candidacies of the Italian far-right Raffaele Fitto for the vice-presidency of the Commission, and the Hungarian Olivér Várhelyi, linked to the Hungarian far-right, as Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare. Várhelyi was the only one of the twenty candidates not running for vice-presidencies who did not obtain the approval of Parliament after his initial hearing.
For his part, Von der Leyen’s official spokesman, Eric Mamer, has assured that the president continues to support Ribera, despite the numerous criticisms that the Spanish PP has levelled at her management of the DANA catastrophe in Valencia. “The president has given her confidence to all the candidates for the post of commissioners and the process for their confirmation is underway. Obviously nothing has changed with respect to this initial position,” said Eric Mamer.
“Ribera is the commissioner appointed by the Spanish authorities for the post of commissioner, the European Parliament has an ongoing process of hearings and the president, of course, has given her confidence in Ribera and has proposed her as commissioner,” he added.
