While Italy’s announcement on who it will nominate for the post of European Commissioner is expected soon, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has kept Commission President Ursula von der Leyen waiting, leading to speculation that their relationship has soured, Euractiv reports.
Doubts about their relationship emerged after Meloni’s party decided not to support von der Leyen’s re-election, although Meloni has repeatedly said that she and von der Leyen communicate frequently.
Just three days before the deadline for the appointment of the country’s commissioners, all coalition leaders were in favour of the candidacy of Raffaele Fitto, the current minister for Europe, the South, Cohesion Policy and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).
However, this choice has not been officially confirmed and Italy remains one of the five countries that have not yet submitted their candidature. The reasons for this state of affairs are still unclear.
Some speculate that it may be because a replacement for Fitto, who will inherit the difficult task of running Italy’s NRRP, has yet to be found. Others believe the delay is a strategic move by Meloni to negotiate with von der Leyen until the last minute.
What is clear is that Meloni’s choice of Fitto from Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia party was supported by both coalition partners, Matteo Salvini’s Lega (Patriots of Europe) and Antonio Tajani’s Forza Italia (EPP). This seems to be more than a compromise, as Tajani called Fitto “the best commissioner Italy could have at this moment.”
Salvini showed less enthusiasm but backed the Minister for European Affairs, saying he “sees no problem…. as far as I am concerned, he would be an excellent commissioner.”
Rumours about possible candidates for the EU Commissioner
Perhaps the majority leaders, Meloni, Salvini and Tajani, will wait until the summer holidays to finalise the issue. However, the upcoming political summit between them on August 30 could be the moment when they finalise their decision, although it will also be the day von der Leyen has to go to work.
Furthermore, the decision could be officially confirmed at a cabinet meeting as early as Wednesday.
In theory, Ursula von der Leyen has asked each state to submit two candidates, a man and a woman. There have been rumours that the second candidate could be Elisabetta Belloni, an experienced diplomat and former head of the intelligence services, but it is clear that the government prefers a political figure and a commissioner linked to economic or competition issues.
However, this would mean that Italy would not contribute to one of the tasks of the new Commission. Despite von der Leyen’s request, only five of the 22 countries that have submitted nominations have so far nominated a woman.
