According to Iratxe Garcia, head of the S&D in the European Parliament, the European People’s Party (EPP) was much more responsible than its Spanish colleagues, Partido Popular, for blocking Spanish Commission nominee Teresa Ribera.
In an interview broadcast by public radio RNE on Thursday, Garcia said that the right-wing opposition Partido Popular’s (PP/EPP) constant blocking of Ribera was endangering the traditional alliance between the EPP, S&D, and Liberals, which has been Europe’s political engine for decades.
“Finally, the European People’s Party has been much more responsible than its Spanish colleagues” in voting for the Spanish candidate, said García about PP.
The EPP did not want to risk upsetting the traditional balance of power in the European Parliament and therefore backed Ribera against the wishes of their Spanish colleagues, García added.
Spain has 61 MEPs, 22 from the PP and 20 from the PSOE, plus other smaller parties, including three of the far-right Se Acabó la Fiesta (SALF) party of the controversial Alvise Pérez.
“I think they (the PP) have shown that irresponsibility, but I think it (the PP veto) was also a clear sign of the tiredness of the European People’s Party, which is still taking responsibility for ensuring the stability of the (European) project”, said García.
The PP wanted to ‘harm’ Spain
Meanwhile, PSOE parliamentary spokesman Patxi López on Thursday accused PP leader Alberto Núñez de Feijóo of making a fool of himself in Brussels by trying to sink Ribera.
“He went (to Brussels) so that they would not send us (Spain) European funds, he went so that some laws we passed here (the controversial amnesty law) would be overturned, and he has gone so that a Spaniard (Ribera) would not be a commissioner or vice-president of the Commission”, López said about Núñez de Feijóo.
“Every time he [Núñez Feijóo] goes [to Brussels], not only is he going to harm Spain, but he makes a fool of himself, and so he should not go back”, López added.
After several weeks of bitter clashes between Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s PSOE, the PP, and their respective European parliamentary groups, an agreement was announced late Wednesday afternoon in Brussels to approve European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s new Commission on 27 November.
While the complex agreement was being hammered out in Brussels, Ribera was in Madrid explaining to parliament details of her handling of the 29 October Valencia disaster after facing tough questioning from the PP and the far-right Vox party, the third-largest force in parliament.
Meanwhile, while the EPP voted for Ribera, the PP reiterated its rejection of the future commissioner for competition and vice president for a clean, fair and competitive transition on Thursday.
PP parliamentary spokesperson Miguel Tellado accused Ribera of showing too little sympathy for the victims of the catastrophic floods, which have claimed the lives of 219 people.
“Ribera doesn’t seem to feel sorry for the dead, that this doesn’t concern her, and in my opinion, this is tremendously, tremendously serious. One cannot dedicate oneself to politics in positions of this coldness in the calculation, not even political, in the personal calculation of what interests me, and that is the position of Teresa Ribera and Pedro Sánchez”, Tellado said.
García not pleased with Fitto getting the OK
The agreement between the three big families in the European Parliament – EPP, S&D, and Renew Europe/Liberals – includes Ribera and the outgoing Italian Minister for European Affairs, Raffaele Fitto (Fratelli d’Italia/ECR). The two will become commissioners and executive vice-presidents in von der Leyen’s second Commission.
But despite the success achieved by the S&D and PSOE on Wednesday, García was pessimistic about Fitto’s appointment.
“We don’t think it’s the right decision. We have let her [Von der Leyen] know that,” said García.
On the other hand, the S&D leader warned that it is now up to the EPP to show a clear commitment to reaching agreements and moving forward with a pro-EU majority in the European Parliament.
“In the end, you can put everything on paper, but what will show that the EPP takes responsibility for moving forward with the pro-European majority will be day-to-day. Regardless of what I put or don’t put on paper, what we have to do is to be aware of the responsibility we all have”, García told the press in Brussels, EFE reported.
(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.Euractiv.es)
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Publish date : 2024-11-22 00:16:00
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The post Socialists in European Parliament slam Spanish right for blocking Ribera – Euractiv first appeared on Love Europe.
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Publish date : 2024-11-22 09:01:20
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