European Parliament gets to work

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has won a second five-year term. Her focus will be competitiveness, security and sustainability — defined less by green ideology than a push for clean industrialisation. With the European Parliament’s committees now formed, work will start in the autumn: to vet commissioners-designate, and vie for political control of the new programme. In this blog, we explore the key committees and committee members for the tech sector.

The standing ovation in the European Parliament last Thursday morning following European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s speech gave a pretty good indication how the chamber would vote hours later, when Members (MEPs) decided — by a margin of 401 to 284 (not counting 22 blank or invalid votes, 12 MEPs not voting and one yet to be seated) — to give von der Leyen a second five-year mandate as Commission president. 

Von der Leyen’s 31-page Political Guidelines for the coming five years, published shortly before her speech on 18 July, prioritises ‘sustainable prosperity and competitiveness’, EU ‘defence and security’, a stronger ‘social model’, a sustainable ‘quality of life: food security, water and nature’, ‘protecting our democracy’, a ‘global Europe’ and ‘preparing our Union for the future’. The word green never appears in a heading or subheading. 

And yet — in addition to expected support from centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), centre-left Socialist & Democrat (S&D) and centrist Renew Europe (RE) members — von der Leyen also won the backing of most Green MEPs, despite her focussing more on a new ‘Clean Industrial Deal’ than on the ‘European Green Deal’ her Commission set in motion. In the end, von der Leyen achieved a comfortable majority even without support from a European Conservative and Reformists (ECR) Group dominated by Italian PM Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia party and leading Polish opposition party Law and Justice (PiS).    

Von der Leyen will now field nominations from Member States on candidates to fill out her next College of Commissioners, with portfolios and titles up for negotiation with national governments and EU parties. In summer 2019, President-elect von der Leyen insisted (sometimes in vain) on both male and female nominees from each Member State, to ensure a gender-balanced Commission. This is likely to remain a priority. Once nominated and then accepted into the new proposed College structure, each commissioner-designate will undergo vetting in the autumn by the relevant European Parliamentary committee(s), before the entire European Parliament votes ultimately to approve or not the new College in its entirety. If all goes well, the new Commission mandate is currently projected to begin 1 November.  

As of today, the new European Parliamentary committees are in place, with each party-political group having published its coordinator roles and each committee’s leadership officially elected. 

Three important committees for tech and digital policy will be the Committees for Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE); Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO); and Transport and Tourism (TRAN). 

ITRE 

The centre-of-gravity in the previous mandate, in terms of size and activity — as well as controversy — was the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI). For the mandate ahead, ITRE seems the place to be — now (like ENVI) with 90 members, up from 78 previously. The EPP has retained control of the committee, though via a new chair: Borys Budka, former president of a resurgent Civic Platform (PO) party now led by Polish PM Donald Tusk. The EPP brings 24 MEPs to ITRE, including experienced hands like returning coordinator Christian Ehler (CDU/Germany), vice-coordinator and AI expert Eva Maydell (GERB/Bulgaria), Finland’s Commissioner-designate Henna Virkkunen (Kokoomus) and EPP Group Vice-Chair Tomas Tobé (Moderates/Sweden). EPP members in recent weeks have internally prioritised a ‘CERN’ for AI and an ‘Innovation Act’ incentivising sandboxes, adapting public-procurement rules and standardising permitting so innovation can scale. Key to any such initiatives will be the new ‘European Competitiveness Fund’ proposed on 18 July by President von der Leyen.

The S&D has confirmed Romanian engineer MEP Dan Nica as its ITRE coordinator; this will be his third mandate in the committee. RE’s coordinator is France’s Christophe Grudler, from a Mouvement Démocrate (MoDem) allied to President Macron. RE’s vice-coordinator is Denmark’s Sigrid Friis, from the same Radikale Venstre party as Margrethe Vestager, European Commission Executive Vice-President for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age. Barry Andrews, from one of Ireland’s two main governing parties, Fianna Fáil, will also likely play a key role. 
  
ITRE holds a first regular meeting on 24 July: to discuss the EU’s 2025 budget and the potential for a European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP).

IMCO

IMCO, responsible in the previous mandate for the groundbreaking Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA), will again be chaired by the Greens’ Anna Cavazzini (Greens/Germany). The Greens, in their priorities for the new Commission work programme, called for a Digital Fairness Act, with clear rules against addictive practices and an end to price personalisation; for an anti-discrimination directive to counter racism and discrimination by law enforcement and AI; and for the ability to purchase a single ticket for any (rail) journey across the EU, on a single dedicated EU ticketing platform — a suggestion President von der Leyen broadened in her Political Guidelines by calling for a ‘Single Digital Booking and Ticketing Regulation’ ensuring ‘Europeans can buy one single ticket on one single platform and get passengers’ rights for their whole trip’. This proposal may effectively replace the Commission’s current multimodal digital mobility services (MDMS) legislation.

The Political Guidelines echo EPP and RE calls, in particular, for making business easier and for a deeper Single Market. One IMCO discussion to watch concerns competition policy: together with President von der Leyen, the EPP and RE are more open in principle to the emergence of new ‘European champions’ better able to compete with global giants. EU tech sovereignty — distinct from autonomy (a term which never appears once in the Political Guidelines, significantly), and referring more to EU capacity to enforce EU rules vis-à-vis companies of any size or origin — looks likely to be a guiding value. Some EPP MEPs would like to wholly revise GDPR.   

Andreas Schwab (CDU/Germany), for many years a driver of EU digital policy, remains the EPP’s coordinator. First-time EPP MEPs Aura Salla (Kokoomus/Finland) and Dóra Dávid (Tisza/Hungary), both formerly of Meta, may also look to play prominent roles. Former European Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean, from the EPP’s Romanian member National Liberal Party, is a new IMCO member as well. 

The S&D, whose coordinator is returning IMCO MEP Laura Ballarín Cereza (PSOE/Spain), has advocated a new directive on AI at the workplace. Key members are likely to be European Parliament Vice-Presidents Katarina Barley (SDP/Germany) and Christel Schaldemose (Socialdemokratiet/Denmark) and S&D Vice-President Alex Agius Saliba (Labour/Malta). 

RE’s coordinator is Svenja Hahn, from a Free Democratic Party (FDP) severely weakened in Germany. The FDP may face ongoing fallout at EU level after choosing not to support von der Leyen’s re-election bid last week. RE’s vice-coordinator is returning IMCO member and RE Presidency member Sandro Gozi (MoDem/France). In an 18 June Politico event entitled ‘After the elections: what’s next for Europe’s digital agenda?’, Gozi stressed the need for new rules addressing online gambling. RE members have also called for a single rulebook for businesses, a single European license and a uniform digital portal.

IMCO lawmakers will hold their first ordinary meeting on 30 September.

TRAN

The EPP gains control of TRAN via a new chair: third-time committee member Eliza Vozemberg, from Greece’s governing New Democracy party. EPP MEPs have internally expressed support for stronger intermodal passenger rights and standardised ticketing platforms (in line with President von der Leyen’s proposal last week, as mentioned above); data connection and infrastructure hubs; a new European Agency for Tourism; review of the Airport Slot Regulation; a new Connecting Europe Facility Transport for accession countries; a ‘book-and-claim’ digital market for sustainable transport fuels; and required use of sustainable fuels on large private ships and planes. 

Johan Danielsson, previously in TRAN and a former Swedish minister covering housing and employment, is the S&D’s coordinator. The S&D has called for a legislative initiative to regulate short-term rentals. 

RE’s coordinator, notably, is experienced committee member MEP Jan-Christoph Oetjen, from Germany’s FDP (see comment above regarding fellow party member Svenja Hahn). 

TRAN’s first vice-chair is Lithuanian Green Virginijus Sinkevicius, former European Commissioner for Environment, Ocean and Fisheries. 

TRAN will hold its first ordinary meeting on 23 September.