Von der Leyen faces internal criticism over business envoy pick

BRUSSELS — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's top team is piling the pressure on her to explain the selection of an EU business envoy from the German political group of which she's a member.

MEP Markus Pieper's recent appointment as the bloc's "Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Envoy" has sparked unrest among von der Leyen's most senior colleagues in the European Commission, who are now demanding answers about how Pieper — a German Christian Democrat — was appointed.

The bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Commissioners Thierry Breton, Nicolas Schmit and Paolo Gentiloni have written to von der Leyen over the appointment, according to a letter obtained by POLITICO and dated March 27. 

Pieper's selection has “triggered questions about the transparency and impartiality of the process,” the document reads. The letter requests a discussion on the matter in the next College meeting.

The four commissioners are rivals of von der Leyen's European People's Party, and political jostling is heating up ahead of June's European election. Breton, who is allied to the liberal Renew group, has already fired shots publicly at his boss von der Leyen. Schmit is running against her for the Commission's top job as the socialist lead candidate, but so far has avoided taking public potshots at his boss.

But now the four opponents have pounced.

As first reported by La Matinale Européenne, the other two shortlisted candidates for the SME envoy post, both women, scored better than Pieper during the selection process.

One of them, Czech Renew lawmaker Martina Dlabajová, confirmed to POLITICO that she had lodged an official complaint to the Commission about the procedure. 

A group of lawmakers from the Greens, Renew, Socialists and Democrats, and The Left filed a written question to the Commission asking to clarify how Pieper scored, what “additional qualifications” put him ahead of the competitors, and whether his political party membership played a role in the final choice. They haven't yet received an answer, said the first signatory, Green lawmaker Daniel Freund of Germany.

Borrell, Gentiloni, Breton and Schmit wrote that the answer to these questions is a matter for the Commission as a whole and that “they consider it appropriate for the College to collectively discuss the answers to these allegations.”

It isn't the first time these commissioners have publicly spoken out against EU decision-making. All four were also among the commissioners who spoke out against the subsequently abandoned choice of Fiona Scott Morton as chief competition economist.

Representatives for Schmit, Borrell and Gentiloni did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Breton's Cabinet declined to comment.

Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer told the press that “there have been no negative comments following that decision” and that "commissioners can raise issues in this case related to parliamentary questions in the context of the of the college if they so wish.”

“The commission has full confidence in the fact that the procedures were followed and that the person who was ultimately selected was selected based on his performance during, the entirety of the selection process,” he said.

Von der Leyen has not yet responded to the letter, according to a Commission official who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Freund also confirmed that an amendment asking to review the appointment had been proposed for a vote in the next plenary. 

This article has been updated.