Sawt Falasteen - EU top team heavyweights face parliament test

Estonia's ex-prime minister Kaja Kallas and France's ex-foreign minister Stephane Sejourne are among six vice-presidents chosen by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen to lead her new European Commission -- and set to face scrutiny from parliament.

A hawkish critic of Russia, Kallas, 47, has been tapped as the European Union's new top diplomat, while Sejourne, 39, is to take charge of the 27-nation bloc's industrial strategy.

Entrusted with two highly sensitive portfolios as the EU seeks to navigate the war in Ukraine, Donald Trump's return to the White House and the bloc's declining competitiveness vis-a-vis the United States and China, both will have to prove their worth.

Yet political power plays might see others face the toughest questioning.

"Two commissioners will be targeted: Fitto and Ribera," said Dutch lawmaker Dirk Gotink of the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), the largest group in the European Parliament -- referring to Italy's Raffaele Fitto and Spain's Teresa Ribera.

Lawmakers on the centre and left are unhappy that Fitto, of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's hard-right Brothers of Italy party, was handed a powerful vice-presidency with the cohesion and reforms brief.

They see the move, which von der Leyen has said reflected Rome's importance within the bloc, as a betrayal of a deal that got her re-elected in July.

- 'Open and uncertain' -

Meloni's European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), which espouses a brand of politics disliked by progressive EU parliamentarians, did not support the German politician's bid for a second term.

Opponents argue it should thus be excluded from the inner sanctum of the new leadership.

Some members of the Socialists and Democrats -- the second-largest group in parliament -- have threatened to vote against confirming the entire college of commissioners on November 27 if Fitto, 55, is not stripped of the vice-presidency.

The ECR tried to mend bridges by pulling its punches as the first 20 commissioners were grilled last week, voting in favour of most of them.

But "the final outcome remains open and uncertain," said Sandro Gozi, of the centrist Renew group.

Fitto's troubles might in turn affect Ribera, who along with Finland's Henna Virkkunen will be the last to undergo the three-hour questioning, and might be in for a rough hearing if lawmakers have already taken their gloves off.

A socialist, Ribera was given what is arguably the commission's most influential role, as competition chief with responsibility over a vast environmental portfolio.

A close ally of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the 55-year-old is likely to have to address her anti-nuclear views and reassure sceptical right-wingers of her commitment to pair climate goals with growth.

She may also be grilled about her government's response to the devastating floods that hit the Valencia region.

The commission is one of the world's most formidable regulators, enforcing European law on key issues such as trade, competition and technology. Each EU state has nominated one member to serve on the body.

Vice-presidents have specific purviews but are also tasked with coordinating the work of other commissioners in charge of related matters.

Von der Leyen, who counts as Germany's representative, allocated portfolios based on personal experience as well as political and national clout.

The hearings offer parliament a rare chance to flex its muscles against the bloc's powerful executive -- and at least one candidate has been canned by parliamentarians during the five-yearly exercise since 2004.

Yet, all but one of the 20 questioned so far this year have been given the green light.

The outlier is Hungary's Oliver Varhelyi, an ally of nationalist prime minister and Brussels rebel Viktor Orban, whose fate is still in the balance, a decision having been postponed to Wednesday.

Sophia Russack, a researcher at the Centre for European Policy Studies think tank, said things might get "spicier" on Tuesday but she still expected the remaining six candidates to "pass through".

The team is to start a five-year term in early December.

S.Abdullah--SF-PST