Michael McGrath will have to shake off the stereotype of the polite, “friendly” Irish man if he is to do well as European commissioner for justice and the rule of law, the co-leader of the European Greens party has said.
Mr McGrath is to face a Confirmation hearing in the European Parliament on Tuesday morning, where a committee of MEPs will question him on his suitability for the EU commissioner job.
The former Fianna Fáil minister for finance is in line to take over the commission brief covering justice, consumer protection and the rule of law. The role would see him lead the European Commission’s efforts to chastise Hungary for the continued erosion of rights and backsliding on the rule of law by prime minister Viktor Orban’s rightwing populist government.
Speaking on Monday, Terry Reintke, co-leader of the European Greens grouping in parliament, said given Mr McGrath’s background, it was not obvious that he should be the politician in charge of the justice and rule of law portfolio. “I think that obviously there is a case to be made that we should really check in the hearing whether he is up for the task and ready to do it,” she said.
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Ms Reintke, a German MEP, said the next commissioner for justice needed to push through stronger penalties for Hungary, which were currently being blocked in the EU policymaking machine by other countries.
“I would say that in order to do that he will maybe have to be a little bit un-Irish – I don’t know if this is a stereotype that is shared across Europe – but Irish people are considered to be very polite and friendly quite often, and I think he will have to be rather tough,” she said.
The hearing in the European Parliament will last for three hours, where Mr McGrath is scheduled to take questions from more than 40 MEPs from different political groups. Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty and Independent MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan are among those due to question the incoming Irish commissioner.
Afterwards a committee of MEPs will vote on whether to confirm Mr McGrath’s appointment to the EU job, with a two-thirds majority required for him to pass initially. If Mr McGrath does not get a two-thirds majority, MEPs can request further responses to written questions or hold a second hearing. MEPs can also opt for a second vote, where a commissioner only needs a simple majority to pass.
The European Parliament traditionally rejects at least one commissioner, and five years ago three failed to clear the hurdle. The nominees from Hungary, Italy and Belgium are seen as being vulnerable in the coming hearings.
However, there is a greater hesitancy among the main political groupings about voting down others this time, for fear commissioners from their groups will be rejected in retaliation.
In the first of the hearings on Monday, Maroš Šefčovič, who is nominated to be the EU’s next trade commissioner, said any change to the bloc’s trade agreement with Israel would need the unanimous support of all 27 member states.
Mr Šefčovič, the longtime commissioner from Slovakia, was responding to a question from Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan, who said it had “never been clearer” that Israel had breached clauses in the agreement to uphold human rights when it “levelled” Gaza.
The EU had used the trade agreement as a platform to have “frank and tough conversations” with the Israeli government to push for a ceasefire in the Middle East, Mr Šefčovič said.
Ms Boylan said the response was “not good enough” and showed up the EU’s “double standard” in how it had “rightly” sanctioned Russia and the lack of similar measures taken against Israel.
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