The Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Parliament has proposed support for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s candidate Commissioner Raffaele Fitto in exchange for the European People’s Party (EPP) backing Teresa Ribera as Vice-President for Clean Transition in the new European Commission.
This strategic shift, communicated to EPP president Manfred Weber, has been designed to see Ribera appointed to the new Commission despite her controversial management of the catastrophic flooding that hit Valencia, Spain in late October.
The proposal has placed Ribera at the epicentre of a political tug-of-war that threatens to compromise the formation of the next European executive.
On the one hand, the EPP insists that Ribera explain her management of the crisis in which more than 200 people perished to the Spanish Congress before endorsing her. On the other, the S&D supports all pending candidates, including Fitto, conditionally on the EPP giving the green light to the Spanish minister.
In the week starting November 18, Ribera’s future could be defined when she undergoes a critical parliamentary hearing and appears before Spain’s Congress of Deputies.
EPP spokesperson Dolors Montserrat has reiterated that her group would not back Ribera, accusing her of “disappearing” during the Valencia devastation and being a candidate with “pending political responsibilities”.
In parallel, the EPP has requested that the vote on her appointment should be held in secret, increasing the pressure on the Socialists and on Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who could be forced to look for a replacement if Ribera does not overcome the obstacles.
The conflict affects Ribera and threatens to paralyse the configuration of the EC led by its President Ursula von der Leyen. All candidates for Commissioner roles must be approved en bloc in the vote in Strasbourg.
If one of them is rejected, the whole process has to start all over again.
Spain’s ecology minister Teresa Ribera is to undergo her hearing for European Commissioner facing a wave of criticism due to her handling of the devastating October flooding that left more than 200 dead in the Valencia region. https://t.co/LXx5Lk5l3Q
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) November 12, 2024
