The Government is on course for a potential clash with Ursula von der Leyen over its proposed nomination of Michael McGrath as Ireland’s next European Union commissioner, after the European Commission president secured a second term on Thursday.
Ms von der Leyen won the support of the European Parliament for another five years in the powerful EU lawmaking role, comfortably passing a confirmation vote that at one point looked like it would be much tighter.
The centre-right German politician will now begin putting together a team of commissioners nominated by each EU country, a process always dominated by horse trading and intense political wrangling in Brussels.
Speaking after her re-election as head of the commission, Ms von der Leyen said she would ask countries to put forward two names, a man and a woman, as their nominees.
The Government has already decided it will nominate Mr McGrath, the former Fianna Fáil minister for finance, as its pick for commissioner. It is understood Dublin is not planning to back down and accede to Ms von der Leyen’s request for a second name.
Ireland has said it is interested in a finance-related commissioner portfolio, but is expected to face very stiff competition for posts covering economic affairs, the EU budget, trade or financial services. Those in Ms von der Leyen’s circle have indicated getting a gender balance in the make-up of her team of commissioners is a priority for her.
Fianna Fáil’s four MEPs were among the few who broke ranks with their centrist European Parliament grouping and publicly stated they were voting against Ms von der Leyen, which may pose a further obstacle to Mr McGrath being handed an influential brief.
In total 10 of Ireland’s 14 MEPs said they voted against Ms von der Leyen in the secret ballot on Thursday. Most cited her misstep in the early days of the Israel-Gaza war, where she was seen as lending unconditional support to Israel in how it would respond to Hamas’s October 7th attacks.
[ Von der Leyen elected for second term as European Commission presidentOpens in new window ]
The EU commissioner jobs are doled out based on a country’s political clout and nominees’ experience, while also taking into account what political grouping they come from and geography.
Mr McGrath is scheduled to travel to Brussels next week, where he is due to meet Irish diplomats and commission officials. The meetings will mainly be preparatory briefings, according to sources. The lobbying for commissioner positions is expected to seriously ramp up only after national governments respond to Ms von der Leyen’s formal requests for nominees, which will likely be made in the coming days or weeks.
In a speech setting out plans for her second term, Ms von der Leyen said she wanted the EU to do more to tackle the housing crisis facing Europe. She committed to build what she called a “European defence union,” which would pool resources to fund big military projects such as a joint air defence shield.
Ms von der Leyen strengthened her position at the top of European politics with a commanding result in the parliament, where she was re-elected by a margin of 40 votes. She successfully brought the Greens grouping onside to shore up the majority of MEPs backing her, in exchange for promises not to unwind previous climate reforms.
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