Following further input in the form of written answers from Commissioner-designate Věra Jourová and negotiations between the relevant political co-ordinators today, MEPs gave their green light to the Czech commissioner. The four committees concerned are the legal affairs committee, the civil liberties, justice and home affairs committee, the internal market committee and the women's rights and gender equality committee.
Commenting on the outcome of the negotiations, Evelyn Regner, S&D co-ordinator for the legal affairs committee, said:
“My Group has given the commissioner-designate a second chance. In her written answers she finally showed some sensitivity on workers' rights and social dumping with regard to the Commission's proposal for a Single Member Company. We welcome her willingness to engage with trade unions and the S&D Group will hold her to her word that workers' rights must not be undermined by this proposal.
“We are disappointed though, that the commissioner-designate has not understood the value of stakeholders such as consumers, local communities and workers. Provisions for minimum standards on employee involvement in case of the application of EU company law would create more legal certainty for businesses and would at the same time generate more trust in labour relations throughout Europe. This would help to make better use of the opportunities provided by the EU internal market and foster sustainable companies."
Birgit Sippel, S&D co-ordinator for the civil liberties, justice and home affairs committee, added:
"Ms Jourová showed her commitment to EU values and fundamental rights during the hearing and in her written answers to our additional questions.
“However, even in the written answers she remained quite vague in fields relevant for our Group, including data protection, procedural rights and practical anti-discrimination measures such as a roadmap for LGBTI rights. We think she can do the job, but we will need to keep up a constructive dialogue with our future commissioner, especially concerning those fields where we felt she could still do more to live up to her potential."
S&D co-ordinator for the internal market committee Evelyne Gebhardt stated:
"From a consumer-protection perspective, Ms Jourová did commit herself to mainstream consumers' concerns though some parts of her answers were not entirely satisfactory. In particular she did not show a clear vision on how to deliver a high level of consumer protection in the European Union.
“Now it is up to Ms Jourová to live up to the commitments she made and to demonstrate how she will address these issues on a practical level.
Marie Arena, S&D co-ordinator for the women's rights committee concluded:
“We were satisfied by Ms Jourová's responses to our request for more details on fundamental issues such as maternity leave, women on boards and the disproportionate effect of poverty on women.
"We are still disappointed however at the lack of ambition and strategy, especially regarding violence against women. We will be watching closely to see how these commitments are put into practice and will maintain a regular dialogue with the commissioner."
