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Version 1 Version 2
UK will not nominate EU commissioner before general election EU launches legal action after UK fails to nominate commission candidate
(about 4 hours later)
Commission needs officials of all 28 member states for it to be legally formed on 1 December Taxpayers could face paying for large fine after Downing Street fails to put forward nominee
The incoming president of the European commission, Ursula von der Leyen, faces a battle to set up her new EU executive team by 1 December after Boris Johnson said he would not nominate a UK candidate before the general election. British taxpayers face paying out for a large fine after the EU launched a legal action against Boris Johnson’s government over his failure to abide by the law and nominate a candidate for the new European commission.
For the commission to be legally constituted, it needs all 28 member states to have a commissioner. The general election in the UK takes place on 12 December. Despite knowing for weeks that the UK would remain in the EU beyond 31 October, when a new EU executive had been due to be in place, Downing Street failed to put someone forward to join the bloc’s 28-strong top team.
The UK permanent representative to the EU, Tim Barrow, wrote to Von der Leyen on Wednesday evening to inform her the British government would not nominate a UK candidate for the commission before the election because of purdah rules. Johnson instead belatedly claimed in a letter sent on Wednesday evening that he had been unable to make an international appointment due to purdah rules ahead of the general election on 12 December.
“We have written to the EU to confirm that pre-election guidance states the UK should not normally make nominations for international appointments during this period,” a UK official said. A spokeswoman for the European commission said the UK had breached its legal obligations despite the prime minister’s repeated claims in public that he would not defy the law.
The move could ultimately see the UK government dragged to answer for itself at the European court of justice, where judges have the power to issue large fines on member states that fail to live up to EU law.
The commission spokeswoman said the UK had until 22 November “at the latest to provide their views” on its formal infringement notice.
The incoming European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, plans to have the EU executive team in place by 1 December.
In the commission’s response to the UK government’s letter, a spokeswoman said officials had “analysed this reply and considers that the UK is in breach of its EU treaty obligations”.
“The European commission recalls that, in accordance with established EU case law, a member state may not invoke provisions prevailing in its domestic legal system to justify failure to observe obligations arising under Union law”, the commission said.
For the European commission to be legally constituted, it needs all 28 member states to have a representative. A former ambassador to Ireland and France, Sir Julian King, is the current commissioner from the UK.
The move towards an infringement procedure by the commission suggests that, despite the earlier rejection of other nominations made by France, Hungary and Romania, 1 December remains a realisable target for the new commission to be up and running.
The formation of the new commission headed by the former German defence minister has already been delayed by a month owing to the European parliament’s rejection of nominees from three member states.The formation of the new commission headed by the former German defence minister has already been delayed by a month owing to the European parliament’s rejection of nominees from three member states.
On Thursday, MEPs were questioning new nominees – from France, Hungary and Romania – in the hope those positions can be swiftly confirmed. France’s commission candidate, Thierry Breton, was belatedly confirmed in his post as commissioner for the single market on Thursday despite only narrowly passing an examination of his financial declarations by the European parliament’s legal affairs committee earlier in the week.
The initial Hungarian and Romanian candidates had been rejected by MEPs because of perceived conflicts of interest. The first French nominee, Sylvie Goulard, was voted down in part over allegations that as an MEP she had used an assistant to carry out domestic political work. Breton, a former chief executive at the software firm Atos, managed to assuage MEPs’ concerns during a grilling on Thursday over a potential conflict of interest between his links to tech companies and him being the next single market and industry commissioner.
The EU member states could potentially agree to change the law to allow the commission to be constituted without a UK candidate by 1 December, if the three other outstanding positions are confirmed in time.
A commission spokeswoman said it was noted in the letter from the UK government that Downing Street had no intention to delay the establishment of the new commission and was ready to assist if possible.
“The UK recognises its obligations as a member state and states clearly that it does not wish to stop the EU from proceeding with the formation of a new commission. The aim of President-elect Von der Leyen remains to … take office on 1 December,” she said.
Hungary’s nominee to the commission, Olivér Várhelyi, said during his hearing on Wednesday that he would not bow to influence from Viktor Orbán, the country’s far-right prime minister.
Várhelyi, who is the Hungarian ambassador to the EU, said he would act independently if approved as commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement.
“As commissioner, from the day I am elected I would be acting in a completely independent way. I will take no instruction from any government or any institution … I will be pursuing the EU line and only the EU line,” he said.
France’s commission candidate, Thierry Breton, is expected to have a tougher battle to be accepted when he meets MEPs on Thursday afternoon. The former chief executive of the software company Atos narrowly passed an examination of his financial declarations by the European parliament’s legal affairs committee on Tuesday.
They approved his financial declarations by 12 votes to 11, but Breton faces intense questioning from MEPs over any potential conflict of interest between his links to tech companies and him being the next single market and industry commissioner.