This is how you can have a say in the new EU Commission

Dear friends and supporters,

Today is the day: at 2:30 p.m. CET, the first hearing of the designated members of the new EU Commission will start in the European Parliament. Over the next two weeks, the 26 candidates will answer questions from MEPs in the relevant committees.

All hearings will be streamed live online (here)

These hearings are not just a formality. After the first hearing, MEPs can schedule further hearings. If they still do not consider the candidate suitable, the member state must send someone new. This is a powerful right that the Parliament has repeatedly used in the past.

However, the shift to the right is changing these hearings.

The majorities in the European Parliament have shifted in the last European elections. The shift to the right means that the European People’s Party (EPP) of the Commission President has a majority with the right-wingers and right-wing extremists in Parliament. Ursula von der Leyen (EPP) had actually promised not to use this, but to stick to the alliance of pro-European parties. But two weeks ago, the EPP broke this promise and voted in favour of a motion from the far-right ESN faction for the first time. Almost nothing seems to be left of the cordon-sanitaire.

This is also evident in von der Leyen’s proposals: Raffaele Fitto from the far-right Fratelli d’Italia is to be given the powerful post of a vice-president. And when it comes to the climate and biodiversity, the Right and Conservatives are also putting pressure on the government. The rollback is in full swing.

This is how you can have a say

In this situation, it is more important than ever that we, the citizens, use our voice to influence the process and stand together against the rollback of democracy, climate and the environment. And it’s easier than you might think. This is how it works:

Step 1: Watch the hearings (here). Civil society has also already formulated questions that can be a good guide to what to look out for (e.g. here on democracy and here on climate and the environment). The candidates’ answers to the questions asked in advance by the members of parliament are also interesting (here).

Step 2: Write to the members of the relevant committee and tell them what you think about the candidate, what was good and what was not. You can easily find all the committee members and their emails here. Don’t write long emails, keep it short, precise and polite.

This may sound trivial. But as someone who used to work in a member of parliament’s office, I can tell you: it makes a difference. When citizens write, and especially when there are many, it can sway MEPs.

We at Europe Calling will of course stay on top of it and report back to you on how things progress.

With best regards,

Max and everyone at Europe Calling