MEPs on Selmayrgate: It ‘destroys’ EU credibility

Parliamentarians question flash promotion of Martin Selmayr at plenary debate in Strasbourg.

STRASBOURG — For a hugely divisive figure, Martin Selmayr has done an impressive job of uniting MEPs of all stripes in condemnation of his promotion to the most powerful civil service job in the European Commission.

During a plenary debate in Strasbourg on his rapid route to the powerful position of secretary-general, representatives from every political corner — left and right, federalist and Euroskeptic — lined up to admonish the Commission for a maneuver that to many looked like a bare-faced stitch-up.

Selmayr’s flash promotion “destroys all the credibility of the European Union,” Dutch liberal MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld told her colleagues.

“The Commission will have to choose what is more important,” In ‘t Veld said in her speech, “the career of Mr. Selmayr or the credibility of the EU.”

“What better to give grist to the mill of the Euroskeptics,” said Françoise Grossetête of the European People’s Party, Selmayr’s own political group. “This discredits an institution that we know is made up mainly of very talented professional people.”

The Parliament can’t remove Selmayr from his office but it can add fuel to a controversy that started three weeks ago when his surprise promotion was presented to the commissioners — who promptly waved it through with apparently little scrutiny.

For Selmayr and his patron Jean-Claude Juncker, the action in Strasbourg adds an unwelcome extra dimension to criticism that has been building in Brussels and beyond. Euroskeptics in the U.K. have pointed out the affair confirms their perception of the EU institutions as an old boys’ club while the Hungarian government has blasted the Commission over its double standards and “preaching” about the rule of law.

At the plenary debate — entitled “Integrity policy of the Commission, in particular the appointment of the Secretary-General of the European Commission” — the role of fending off attacks on the Commission fell to Günther Oettinger, the budget commissioner.

“All decisions including the decision on the new secretary-general were unanimously agreed by the College of Commissioners. If you look at the minutes, you can see that we acted in accordance with rules,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned there is no doubt and indeed this has not been called into question: Martin Selmayr has all the necessary qualifications to take on the task of secretary-general of the Commission.”

But several MEPs disagreed.

Werner Langen, a German member of the EPP, said Selmayr lacked experience. “What Selmayr doesn’t have is the experience in various departments, he was never head of department … the whole procedure was anything but transparent, it reminds us of the 19th century secret bureaucracy.”

In ‘t Veld said the debate was “not about staff policy … It is about the total lack of political judgement of this Commission.”

She said she had been left “speechless” at the idea of 28 commissioners, who voted unanimously in favor of Selmayr’s appointment, though none of them knew about it beforehand, being “led by the nose by a civil servant.”

“If the commissioners are so easily intimidated by civil servants … if they act like helpless children … how can we expect them to stand up for the EU interest against [Donald] Trump for example in a trade war?” she added.

Visibly shaking with emotion, Pervenche Berès, a senior Socialist MEP, said Selmayr did not have the “legal qualities” required for the position. She asked why the position of Commission secretary-general had not been advertised beforehand, and why Clara Martinez, Juncker’s current chief of Cabinet, had withdrawn from the race.

Bart Staes, a Belgian Green MEP, said the speed of the appointment was “a world record.”

“Don’t treat us like children,” Staes said. “We don’t expect high officials to act in this rushed fashion and in such a dishonest way.”

Green German MEP Sven Giegold added: “I’m not going to question the candidate’s competence … You have to draw consequences from this scandal.”

György Schöpflin, a Hungarian conservative, said: “It demonstrates that checks and balances are missing from the work of the Commission.”

“If the European Commission is ready to ignore its own rules, why should anyone pay a blind bit of attention to what the EC says about flaws in the rule of law in member states and anywhere else for that matter?”

French Green MEP Pascal Durand told Oettinger that with Selmayr’s appointment, he was “undermining” the whole European project.

The vast majority of MEPs who spoke were critical of the Commission, but some came to Selmayr’s defense.

“Selmayr’s nomination falls within the political competence of the European Commission president,” said Esteban González Pons, a Spanish member of the EPP, adding that it would be unthinkable to see the Commission controlling appointments in the Parliament’s administration.

Prior to the debate, MEPs voted unanimously to give the Budgetary Control Committee the task of investigating the procedure of Selmayr’s appointment and on the basis of the committee’s work, they agreed to vote on a resolution at a plenary later this year.