BRUSSELS. The juxtaposition with Poland and Hungary, Member States with which the European Commission has open disputes over policies against the judiciary and LGBTBI minorities on the one hand, and violation of the rule of law on the other. And then the threat of interventions, such as the freezing of European funds, on the basis of infringements not yet committed. An exit, that of Ursula von der Leyen on Italy, which triggers a political earthquake in Brussels, where the MEPs of the League ask for an account in a parliamentary question written in a hurry and addressed to the president of the community executive.
Salvini against Von der Leyen: “Blackmails Italy three days before the vote: apologies or resignations”
The incident took place at Princeton University, where von der Leyen held a meeting-debate on the occasion of the mission to the United States for the work of the UN General Assembly. A researcher asks if the Italian vote of 25 September, and above all the outcome that could derive from it, worries. The reasoning of the head of the community executive is based on common rules. “If there is a democratic government that wants to work with us, whatever it is, we will work together.” But, on the contrary, “if things were to take a difficult direction, and I spoke before about Poland and Hungary, we have the tools”.
A response that is accepted as an excessive and misplaced interference by the troops of the Northern League in the European Parliament. Marco Campomenosi, head of the Lega delegation, and Marco Zanni, president of the parliamentary group Identity and Democracy of which the League is a part, are mobilized. The two deposit a question in which they ask first of all to “clarify what he meant by” difficult direction “and on what elements he made this preliminary assessment”. They then practically indict the Commission for an intervention considered to be “damaging” to the principle of independence of the Commission enshrined in the data processed and in the code of conduct of its members. Devices that establish that the commissioners “do not act or express themselves, through any means, in such a way as to negatively affect the perception of public opinion regarding their independence”.
The political message, however, clashes with the timing of written questions, which usually take 30 to 60 days before receiving an answer. For this reason, it is reasonable to expect that during the periodic hearings that the various commissioners hold in the various parliamentary committees, the members of the League will be able to ask the member on duty for an account, pending a response from von der Leyen. From Rome, the leader of the League, Matteo Salvini, threatens to resort to a motion of censure, which, however, is a tortuous and not a foregone conclusion. To present it, one-tenth of the MEPs are needed, therefore 71 among the different groups. Lega and Fratelli d’Italia, assuming that Fdi can join in this initiative, together have 32 seats. 39 are missing to look for. Then the motion must pass the vote of the House, which must approve it by a majority of two thirds of the votes cast and by a majority of the deputies that make up the Parliament, and it is not clear when it could possibly be scheduled. In short, an option that appears more complex and that could lead to nothing, while instead an answer must be given to the question.
An initial response is offered by the head of the community executive spokesperson service, Eric Mamer, but without improving things. “The president did not intervene in the Italian elections,” he claims. Too bad that von der Leyen answered a very specific question, and referred to the vote of 25 September. However, adds Mamer, “the president has highlighted the role of guardian of the treaties of the Commission”. Right, too bad that at present Italy is not in violation of the Charter. It is no coincidence that criticisms and requests for clarification also come from Italy from the secretaries of Italia Viva and the Democratic Party, worried that this “slip” by von der Leyen could represent an advantage to the competitors two days before the vote.