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if the populists underperformed at the ballot box and failed to nab key powerful positions, they’re still one of the clear winners of von der Leyen’s new Commission.
The make-up of the new EU executive, which von der Leyen unveiled on Tuesday, is the result of political compromises in the face of strong pressure. Populist forces have, in effect, set the agenda.
The new Commission is the result of a process of elimination. Von der Leyen herself was not picked as chief for her vision for Europe; she emerged as a compromise candidate after politicians from the East mounted a rebellion against Socialist front-runner Frans Timmermans. The same is true for the new high representative for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, and the new president of the European Council, Charles Michel. Neither was anybody’s first choice (except perhaps their own). [...]
Her decision to create the new position of “Vice President for Protecting our European Way of Life” (a job she awarded to Margaritis Schinas, the Commission’s former chief spokesperson) is another concession to the populists. [...]
the Greek Commissioner’s job will be to coordinate the EU’s migration and asylum policies, while promoting job growth and integration and making sure that Europeans are protected from terrorist and cyber threats.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the EU is treating migration as a security question. After all, this is how Brussels has dealt with the fallout of the 2015 migration crisis, and it makes sense from a political point of view. But to be so blunt as to link the need to manage migration with the need to protect Europe’s “way of life” (whatever that means) is taking a page straight out of the populist playbook. [...]
The urgency and scale of the migration challenge should have compelled von der Leyen to identify it as needing a “super commissioner” in charge of it — as she did for competition and digital affairs, with the appointment of Margrethe Vestager as the vice president for a “Europe fit for the digital age” and commissioner for competition. The role could have encompassed free movement, border controls and common migration and asylum policies. [...]
Full opinion piece on POLITICO
Related article on EurActiv: Le Pen hails EU ‘way of life’ job as victory on path to Élysée