Von der Leyen’s Italian executive VP pick faces further opposition

Opposition to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's plan to give Italy an executive vice-presidency is growing, with the Greens and Social Democrats joining the liberal Renew group in opposing the move.

Last week, Renew Europe President Valérie Hayer criticised von der Leyen's plans to give the coveted role of executive vice-president to the Italian candidate, European Affairs and Recovery Plan Minister Rafaelle Fitto - of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's conservative and non-pro-European ECR group - as "politically incomprehensible" and unacceptable.

Now, both the Greens and Social Democratic group (S&D) have echoed her sentiments. 

Ursula von der Leyen “was only elected in July because she secured our [the Greens] votes and not those of the far-right; the Commission must not suddenly shift to the right,” said Terry Reintke, co-chair of the Greens in the European Parliament.

While acknowledging that Italy has the right to propose its commissioner, Reintke stressed that nominating a conservative from the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) group to the Commission’s leadership would “deliberately undermine the democratic and pro-European coalition of July.”

Similar concerns were expressed by the S&D group, which said in a note that giving the ECR such a critical role would cost von der Leyen their support.

“Ignoring the Spitzenkandidaten process, weakening gender balance in the College, appointing a commissioner for employment whose commitment to social rights is at best questionable, and proactively placing the ECR at the heart of the Commission: this would be a recipe for losing progressive support,” the statement said.

The only EU group that has so far come out in favour of giving Italy's candidate a prominent role is the conservative European People's Party (EPP).

Two weeks ago, EPP Leader Manfred Weber said during his visit to Rome that he was in favour of “assigning a strong role to Italy," citing the substantial support for Meloni and Tajani in the European elections, in contrast to the losses suffered by Macron and Scholz.

Last week, the Leader of Forza Italia (EPP) in the European Parliament, Fulvio Martusciello, confirmed von der Leyen's plan to give Italy an executive vice-presidency overseeing economic affairs and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, even though the ECR is not part of the pro-European majority.

"In the EPP group meeting, Weber outlined the Commission president’s strategy, which includes 14 EPP commissioners. There will indeed be four executive vice-presidents, and one will be allocated to Italy," Martusciello said.

While von der Leyen has repeatedly promised that she will not form alliances with the far right, which includes the ECR and the Patriots for Europe groups, it seems unlikely that she will be able to push through her vice-presidency choice with such opposition from the more pro-European formations.

[Edited by Daniel Eck]