European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen is embroiled in a row over favouritism, after appointing German MEP Markus Pieper as Envoy for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, a five-year publish with a wage of practically 17,000 euros a month.
The selection was challenged by 4 commissioners – Spain’s Josep Borrell, France’s Thierry Breton, Luxembourg’s Nicolas Schmit and Paolo Gentiloni of Italy, who wrote a letter to the president asking to debate the recruitment course of.
Appointment challenged
Socialist, Liberal and Inexperienced MEPs additionally requested for the choice to be rescinded in a decision on the European Fee’s 2023 funds.
“I feel the choice course of needs to be repeated, and this time they need to persist with the factors that they themselves outlined,” German Inexperienced MEP Daniel Freund instructed Euronews. “They mentioned it could be selected benefit, on gender steadiness, and if two candidates have the identical qualification, it goes to a kind of member states the place there’s much less illustration.”
In accordance with media experiences, Pieper was deemed much less certified than two different candidates, together with a liberal Czech MEP, Freund added.
“I desire a process the place the very best candidate really will get the job,” Freund mentioned, suggesting that the explanation for the appointment could also be political. Pieper is a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the identical get together as von der Leyen.
“There was an issue in North Rhine Westphalia, with too many male MEPs,” Freund mentioned, with the CDU looking for gender steadiness within the German area. “It appears to have been advantageous for the CDU that Markus Pieper will get this job. Whether or not this performed a job within the process, sure or no, I do not know.”
European Fee’s protection
The European Fee has defended the appointment, saying the same old procedures have been adopted.
“The method could be very easy. It is a proposal by the commissioner in control of personnel, Johannes Hahn, in settlement with the president and after session of the portfolio commissioner, on this case Thierry Breton,” mentioned Eric Mamer, spokesperson for the EU govt.
The levels of the choice course of is not going to be made public, the spokesperson mentioned, however President von der Leyen “has full confidence that the method befell in full compliance with procedures.”