Multiple days have been allocated for the oral discussions. The intention is for President Ursula von der Leyen to have her second Commission approved by the full European Parliament at the end of November.
There is criticism of the tight schedule that President Von der Leyen is applying. If interrogators from the European Parliament are not satisfied with the answers of a candidate Commissioner, parliamentary groups want to keep open the possibility of a second hearing.
Critics say that Von der Leyen is trying to prevent this with a tight schedule. The European Parliament cannot reject one or several commissioners, but — in case of great dissatisfaction — can only block the installation of the entire Commission.
The oral hearings will start Monday evening with the proposed new Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, the Luxembourg Christian Democrat Cristophe Hansen. He will have to find his way in the increasingly polarized debate on food policy.
However, his previous written answers have left a bad taste with many EU politicians. According to them, Hansen’s emphasis is too much on agriculture and too little on food-related issues: too much farmer and too little plate...
Last week, Hansen reiterated his promise to present a comprehensive vision for agriculture and food within his first 100 days. Ideally, this roadmap will replace the current Farm to Fork strategy, but it is unclear to what extent Hansen will uphold the Green Deal.
In Hansen’s twelve-page written response, the food industry was mentioned only once, and that was solely to emphasize the industry's duty to support farmers’ incomes.
This focus on agriculture may also reflect a recent political trend. During the European election campaigns, farmers’ protests highlighted agricultural issues, and von der Leyen’s European People’s Party (EPP) — of which Hansen is a member — positioned itself as a champion of farmers.
A key point for Hansen is farmers’ incomes, which he says are affected by “a weaker negotiating position and a lack of market transparency.”
In this context, Hansen has committed to strengthening the bargaining position of farmers to reduce the risk that they are forced to sell their products below production costs.
This includes revising the unfair trading practices (UTP) directive, adopted five years ago but still largely not implemented, to address power imbalances in the food supply chain.