Tonio Borg is expected to be approved as European Commissioner by the end of the week, though the vote in the European Parliament on Wednesday is likely to be close.
Some had problems at the beginning, but we managed to get them on board- Busuttil
Sources close to the main political groups in the EP told The Sunday Times that despite division among parliamentarians Dr Borg should scrape through.
Dr Borg is assured of only most of the 271 votes of the European People’s Party MEPs. The EPP group is the only one which fully committed itself to backing the Maltese nomination to replace John Dalli as Health Commissioner.
MEP Simon Busuttil yesterday said the 26 delegations inside the group all have committed themselves to back Malta’s nomination following meetings he held with them.
“Some had problems at the beginning, but things then cleared and we managed to get them on board,” he said.
Fifty MEPs from the European Conservatives and Reformists group – formerly part of the EPP – are expected to vote in his favour.
The other votes needed for Dr Borg to reach a simple majority are expected to come from individual MEPs in the Socialist, Liberal and Green groups who are in favour of Dr Borg’s nomination even though the official position of their group is either against or neutral. While the Greens and Liberals have taken a position against Dr Borg, even though they admitted he turned in a very good performance in last Tuesday’s hearing, the Socialists are expected to take a favourable position at the eleventh hour.
A simple majority in the EP chamber is reached at 378 votes if all 754 MEPs cast their votes. However, the threshold is normally lower since not all parliamentarians attend the session and vote.
The Socialist group will only make its position known on Tuesday. If positive, it can significantly shift balance in favour of the Maltese nominee.
Socialist group sources told The Sunday Times that although there are no substantive reasons why Dr Borg’s nomination should be blocked, some elements within the group are still lobbying against Malta’s nomination.
“The pro-LGBT faction, headed by the UK’s Labour MEP Michael Cashman is one of the problems, together with some MEPs from the Spanish and Swedish delegation,” sources said.
On the other hand, Labour MEP Louis Grech has continued meeting his counterparts to push for an official favourable position by his group.
In an unprecedented move to other hearings, the Socialists, with the support of other small groups, have asked Dr Borg to make a commitment on seven key points he mentioned in his hearing to obtain their approval.
Although Dr Borg has not yet commented on this latest demand, he is expected to give this assurance in writing.
Dr Borg’s approval process by the EP has been an uphill struggle given his past personal views on homosexuality, divorce and his conservative background. The fact he was the only candidate facing a grilling put him in the centre of attention and provided MEPs with an opportunity to make their voices heard.
Lobby groups, particularly related to gay organisations, were vociferous in their opposition to Dr Borg’s nomination, even resorting to the social media and sending You Tube videos to the offices of MEPs with messages against the Maltese foreign minister.
Evaluation of political groups
European People’s Party
“The performance of the Commissioner-Designate at the hearing has been very good. Taking account of the short preparation time of less than three weeks since his nomination, the Commissioner-designate has shown a surprisingly good grasp of the numerous specific issues of his portfolio. The EPP emphasises that Dr Borg was fully qualified not only in the light of his performance at the hearing but also on the basis of his rich political experience, his commitment to social values and his clear pro-European convictions.”
ALDE Group (Liberals)
“While agreeing that the candidate gave a professional performance, the group expressed concerns that Dr Borg’s views on homosexuality, divorce, abortion, and the scientific use of tissues and cells would imperil his necessary impartiality and announced accordingly that it would withhold its support for the confirmation of the Commissioner-designate with regard to the particular portfolio for which he has been nominated.”
Socialist Group
“The group considers that Dr Borg’s performance at the hearing had been good and on balance was positive. However, the S and D group expresses its concerns on the candidate’s previous stance in national politics with regards to issues of gender equality and women’s sexual and reproductive rights. The S and D group took note of Dr Borg’s statements that his views would not translate into attempts to influence EU policies and legislation in this regard and stressed that the European Parliament would remain vigilant.”
Green Group
“The group acknowledges Dr Borg had, account taken of the short preparation time, shown good general competence, as well as good knowledge of most files in his perspective portfolio. However, with regard to the sensitive questions on women’s rights including abortion, LGBT issues, right of minorities, the Greens expressed concern that a Commissioner does not merely have to abide by the treaties, but also develop new policies based thereon and that his statements did not match with his track record.”
ECR (Conservatives) Group
“The group emphasised that it would be inappropriate to attempt to evaluate the Commissioner-designate on the basis of his alleged ‘incompatibility with European values’ and that freedom of thought and expression, including religious liberty, also formed part of the broader European values which had been cited. The ECR group regrets that several of Mr Borg’s answers had not been very clear, but the ECR group would not now intend to oppose the appointment of Dr Borg.”
GEU/NGL (Left) Group
“Dr Borg made a career out of support for some of the harshest provisions against gender-equality, LGBT-rights, reproductive rights including restrictions of pregnant women’s ability to travel outside Malta if suspected of seeking an abortion abroad. His conservative views to same-sex marriage and cohabitation and other rights would be detrimental and counterproductive to a number of EU policies and the group is unable to support his nomination.”