The definition of trust (or perhaps madness) in the EU? Letting a Brit have the keys to the headquarters of the European Commission while (almost) everyone else is on vacation.
That’s what happened last week when Julian King — who, barring a massive Brexit change of heart, will be the last ever European commissioner from the U.K. — was on duty while his colleagues topped up their tans and caught up on summer reading. His boss, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, wasn’t on holiday for all of that time — he left late last week, perhaps having given King the first shift to keep an eye on him.
The Brit, who is in charge of the security union portfolio, had some work to do. He signed off on some €9 million in new money for the United Nations’ refugee agency and on a new method of financing the European Youth Orchestra, among other things.
But most importantly, he was in the office.
Juncker made it clear he wants the Commission to be open for business throughout the summer in a note sent to all staff, according to people who received the memo.
He set up a summer rota of duty commissioners who must be at work. King got the first week-long shift, with Malta’s Karmenu Vella taking over at the weekend, followed by Romania’s Corina Creţu and then Cyprus’ Christos Stylianides who’ll be in charge from August 19 to 27, according to a Commission spokesperson, after which Juncker will be back.
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The president gave an interview to POLITICO in a rather empty Berlaymont HQ last week, before heading to Austria on holiday.
His message then was that the Commission is ready to act “within days” if anything happens.
It’s become a new mantra, used when discussing retaliation against U.S. sanctions on Russia, the legality of Venezuela’s recent election or Poland wielding the ax both against protected trees and the rule of law.
The summer rota is part of Juncker’s ambition of leading a “political Commission” and a way of showing other EU institutions, national capitals and even the citizens of Europe, that politics can’t always wait until September.
Parliament’s long pause
The European Parliament hasn’t taken the same approach, with President Antonio Tajani sending a letter to Juncker and other EU leaders telling them not to bother getting in touch.
Tajani told “Dear Jean-Claude” that the Parliament was taking its summer break and no work should be sent over before early September.
“I would be grateful if you could suspend, from the date of reception of this letter, the transmission of any notification or request to the budgetary authority [that’s the Parliament],” Tajani wrote in a letter dated July 13 — although he is keeping himself busy and did pop up last Tuesday, sending angry letters about Venezuela, which POLITICO obtained, to the Council and Commission.
According to EU diplomats, efforts to coordinate the bloc’s position on Venezuela were already underway by Tuesday, and the message was delivered Wednesday.
The home-alone commissioner isn’t completely on their own. At 9:45 a.m. every weekday, a skeleton staff meets in the Berlaymont, according to participants. Among them are officials from the Cabinets of both the president and that week’s duty commissioner, as well as from the secretariat-general and the spokespersons’ service.
At 10:30 a.m. all last week, a smaller group of people more or less directly reporting to Juncker met with the president to discuss the important matters of the day. They were given Juncker’s cell phone number for while he’s away.
The College of Commissioners reconvenes at the end of August for a retreat, which could easily be turned into a “fully-fledged” meeting should the need arise, a senior Commission official said.
To calm Italy’s fears on migration, Juncker has set up a special telephone hotline and email address that alerts three senior Commission officials, “to ensure a constant chain of communication between Italy and the European Commission,” Juncker wrote to Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni in July.
The Commission’s midday press briefing also carries on throughout the summer, although it’s been downgraded to a much smaller room.
Of course, some people can’t completely disconnect even when they are supposed to be on holiday. Commissioner Věra Jourová, who oversees consumer protection, has been tweeting away to make sure EU citizens are aware of what the Commission does for them.
“Summer is coming, and the EU is always on your side,” she said in a video, whether it’s about a late flight (you’ve got rights), a lost passport or diplomatic incident (“you have the right to consular protection”) or suntan lotion (“safe” if sold on EU soil).
The Czech commissioner spoke in English, perhaps to make sure the Brits realize what they’re leaving behind.