Bloomberg report: Lawmakers at the European Parliament hammered home the main obstacle to his confirmation: He’s being given a job that’s seen as a weak point for French politicians. Nick Crosby reports: He is a consummate insider, but lacks big ideas.
Being French isn’t usually a problem in the corridors of power in Brussels. But at Thursday’s confirmation hearing for Pierre Moscovici, the Socialist nominated to be the next commissioner for economic affairs, lawmakers at the European Parliamenthammered home the main obstacle to his confirmation: He’s being given a job that’s seen as a weak point for French politicians.
One lawmaker after another – mainly those from right-of-center parties – portrayed the French economy as a basket case and demanded why Mr. Moscovici, who was finance minister for nearly two years, should have the job of evaluating the budgets of national governments for the European Commission.
The first question–or statement–went to center-right lawmaker and fellow Frenchman Alain Lamassoure: “No one of good faith can understand why the portfolio that you have been given would be one in which you have failed in your country as the minister of economy and finance.”
Mr. Moscovici, the son of a Romanian Jew who was a refugee after World War II, felt obliged to start his response: “I am French, and I am proud of it. My parents fought hard to become so.
“But I want to act as a European before everything,” he continued, “and the role of the European commissioner for economic affairs is to defend the rules.”
That is the crux of the opposition to Mr. Moscovici. His job will be to evaluate whether the budgets of national governments respect the EU’s budget rules, which require politicians to push deficits to under 3% of gross domestic product. Budgets must also comply with the “medium-term objective.” In most cases, that’s a structural deficit – the normal deficit adjusted for the strength of the economy – that is under 0.5% of GDP.
As French finance minister, Mr. Moscovici requested and received several deadline extensions for hitting those targets. His argument, which the Commission ultimately bought, was that the targets weren’t hit because of weaker-than-expected growth, not lax budget planning. Mr. Moscovici repeatedly noted that the Commission said his budgets followed the rules.
Full article on Real Time Brussels
European Voice: Moscovici struggles to shake off French past
Perspective from Commissioner Hearings
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