Ursula von der Leyen / Top commissioners demand explanations for MEP appointment

An uproar has been caused by appointment of the German MEP, Marcus Piper as “envoy of SMEs”, with top commissioners demanding explanations from the Commission president Ursula von der Leyenstressing that questions are being raised about the “transparency and impartiality of the process”.

Marcus Pieper, who he comes from the same party as Ursula von der Leyen recently appointed special envoy for small and medium enterprises, but MEPs have already questionedi if he was the highest performing candidate in the selection process. As the Guardian reports, according to reports, the position in question has a commission rank, with a salary of €17,000 a month.

The EU’s foreign policy chief Joseph Borel, the commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton, the Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, Nicola Smith and the Finance Commissioner, Paolo Gentiloni, sent a letter to von der Leyen about the appointment, according to a document obtained by Politico dated March 27.

The choice of Pieper “raised questions on the transparency and impartiality of the process“, the document states. The letter requests that the matter be brought up for discussion at the next meeting of the College of Commissioners.

The four commissioners are opponents of the European People’s Party von der Leyen and political unrest is intensifying ahead of June’s European elections, Politico notes in the relevant article.

As first reported by La Matinale Européenne , the other two candidates shortlisted for the post of media envoy – both women – noted better scores than Piper during the selection process. One of them, Czech Renew MP Martina Dlabajová, confirmed to Politico that she had submit a formal complaint to the Commission about the process.

At the same time, a group of MEPs from Greens, Renew, Socialists and Democrats and the Left, they filed written question to the Commission asking to clarified how Pieper was rated, what “additional qualifications” gave him an edge over the other candidates and whether his membership of the European People’s Party played a role in the final selection. They have yet to receive a response, said the first signatory, Greens MP Daniel Freund from Germany.

Borel, Breton, Schmidt and Gentiloni said among others that answering these questions is a matter for the Commission as a whole and that they “consider it appropriate for the House discuss the answers collectively to these allegations.”

Schmidt’s representatives, Broel Gentiloni and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Breton’s cabinet declined to comment. Von der Leyen he has not yet replied to the letteraccording to a Commission official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.