Hogan prepares as EU commissioners await parliamentary grilling

Next Monday morning the first of 27 public hearings begins in Brussels as MEPs question incoming European Union commissioners about their suitability for their new roles.

Two weeks since Jean- Claude Juncker unveiled his team of commissioners, for many this is where the real fun begins, with some euro-watchers expecting a bunfight between MEPs and nominees.

Commissioners will be grilled by the relevant European Parliament committee for three hours, with the parliament convening in private on October 9th and 10th to consider their verdicts. The parliament will then vote on the election of the entire commission later next month in Strasbourg. In truth the work has already started.

Last week a list of written questions was sent to the commissioner-designates, who must respond by tomorrow. These include questions relating to the candidate’s experience and commitment to the EU, as well as policy-specific questions.

The hearings will begin with opening statements by candidates followed by exchanges of views with MEPs, beginning with senior MEPs from the main political groupings.

Peppered by experts

Irish commissioner designate Phil Hogan, who is in Brussels preparing with officials, is scheduled to appear next Thursday morning and will face the 90-strong agriculture committee. It will be a tough task. Chaired by Polish MEP Czeslaw Siekierski, the committee is peppered with experts on everything from the minutiae of the Common Agricultural Policy to forestry and animal welfare. The EU's response to Russian sanctions – particularly tough on east European countries – is likely to be foremost in the minds of MEPs, as will the EU-US trade deal.

Though Hogan's suitability for the role will likely to have been pushed strongly by the well-respected Mairead McGuinness in recent weeks, the two other Irish MEPs on the committee – Sinn Féin's Matt Carthy and Independent MEP Luke Ming Flanagan – have already indicated their opposition to Hogan.

The incoming commissioner is likely to face questions about the establishment of Irish Water and his intervention in a dispute over the housing of a Traveller family in Kilkenny, following Nessa Childers’s decision to write to the nearly 200 MEPs in the Socialist and Democrats group about the matter.

But the brief flurry of international media interest in Hogan’s past political travails appears to have passed. It seems the European Parliament has bigger fish to fry.

Spanish nominee Miguel Arias Canete, who has been given the climate and energy portfolio, is virtually certain to come under fire, given his links to the oil industry and his even more controversial views on women. In May he was forced to apologise publicly after he tried to explain his poor performance in a TV debate. Roughly translated, he said a debate between a man and a woman is "very complicated, because if you use your intellectual superiority it appears you are a male chauvinist cornering a defenceless woman". His remarks prompted a furious response in Spain.

Similarly, Romania's nominee Corina Cretu, who once sent lewd messages to former US secretary of state Colin Powell, is likely to face some delicate questioning about her judgment.

Battle against Brussels

Controversy has also surrounded the appointment of Slovenia's commissioner, outgoing prime minister Alenka Bratušek, and Hungary's Tibor Navracsics, a close ally of prime minister Victor Orban, who has been waging a battle against Brussels over issues surrounding the rule of law.

British nominee Jonathan Hill, who has been given the financial services portfolio, will also face some tough questions about the future direction of EU banking legislation, given Britain’s fierce opposition to many aspects of EU financial services law.

In 2004 and 2009 the parliament rejected a nominee for commissioner, forcing the member state in question to appoint a replacement.

Many believe an outright rejection of a candidate may be less likely this time due to the political alliances in the new parliament. The “grand coalition” formed in the wake of May’s European elections by the two largest political groups, the European People’s Party and Socialists and Democrats as a counterweight to the anti- establishment parties, means it is unlikely either will veto a nominee from the other group.

Liberal group Alde is also loosely in coalition with the other two groups, meaning nominees from its political family are probably safe. As a conservative party nominee, Hill's membership of the European Conservative and Reformists group could go against him, though he is expected to pass the parliament's grilling.

Whatever the outcome next week, expect plenty of fun and games as the parliament prepares to flex its muscles.