Eu Parliament
Von der Leyen criticized for personnel decisions
A spokesman for von der Leyen made it clear that there were no plans to reverse the personnel decision. photo
© Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP/dpa
Is there nepotism in Ursula von der Leyen’s EU Commission? A majority in the EU Parliament suspects this and has now pushed through an explosive proposal.
A large majority in the European Parliament has opposed the appointment of the German CDU politician Markus Pieper as representative of the European Parliament due to suspicions of favoritism EU for small and medium-sized companies. The MPs called on Ursula von der Leyen’s responsible EU Commission to reverse the personnel decision in favor of the 60-year-old party friend from Münsterland.
A motion written by the Greens, Social Democrats and Liberals was approved in plenary session with 382 votes. 144 MPs voted against it, 80 abstained.
The reason for their move was that the MPs cited doubts as to whether Pieper’s appointment took into account “the principles of performance, gender balance and geographical balance”. The Commission President was indirectly accused of having specifically chosen a party friend in Pieper. The motion now calls on the Commission to initiate “a truly transparent and open process” for the selection of the commissioner.
The background to the allegations is, among other things, that in the initial phase of the application process, two applicants from Sweden and the Czech Republic were rated better than the 60-year-old Pieper. The CDU politician, who comes from Münsterland, only prevailed in the selection interviews.
Von der Leyen wants to hold on to Pieper
Pieper’s party friends and spokespersons for the EU Commission reject the suspicion of favoritism as completely unfounded. They see behind the MPs’ actions a political campaign against von der Leyen, who wants to be re-elected as EU Commission President after the European elections in June. This is supported by the fact that EU commissioners from the ranks of the now critical party families did not take advantage of the opportunity to object in the internal authority procedure, it is said.
A spokesman for von der Leyen made it clear shortly after the decision that there were no plans to reverse the personnel decision. He emphasized that all rules were adhered to during the selection process and that each EU institution could decide autonomously about filling positions.
CDU members should receive a five-figure monthly salary
According to the commission, Pieper will take up the post in grade AD 15 next week as planned. According to the EU salary table, he will then receive a basic monthly salary of more than 18,000 euros.
Von der Leyen’s employees have repeatedly pointed out in recent weeks that it is completely normal in the application process for candidates who did particularly well in the first round of tests not to be successful in the end. In addition, reference was made, among other things, to Pieper’s many years of experience in medium-sized business policy.
Christian Democrats accuse the Greens of double standards
On Thursday, the Christian Democratic MPs Ivan Stefanec and Monika Hohlmeier particularly accused the Greens, who were in charge of the proposal, of double standards. In some cases, Green ministers from EU member states have hired people without a formal application process, argued Slovakian Stefanec. CSU MP Monika Hohlmeier referred to the case of German MEP Malte Gallée, who resigned due to harassment allegations. She criticized the fact that the Greens constantly called for a more effective anti-harassment policy, but in the case mentioned they did not involve the official authorities themselves.