France and Italy are vying for a
prominent place in the economic sector of the next European
Commission, if possible a vice president, the Financial Times
reported Thursday.
It said "the fight has been exacerbated by personal animosity
between the two countries' leaders," rightwing Giorgia Meloni
and centrist Emmanuel Macron.
"French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister
Giorgia Meloni are at loggerheads because both are vying for the
same prize: a powerful Commission vice-president in charge of
trade, competition and industrial policy," the British financial
newspaper writes.
The Commission posts are set to be divvied up at the European
Union summit in Brussels today and tomorrow.
Italy's outgoing representative is the former centre-left
premier Paolo Gentiloni, who holds the economic affairs
portfolio.
Meloni has reportedly tapped European Affairs, Cohesion, South
and National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) Minister
Raffaele Fitto, a member of her Brothers of Italy (FdI) party,
as her hopeful candidate for a top EC post.
The Italian premier has blasted the deal between the
centre-right European People's Party (EPP), the Socialists and
Democrats (S&D) and the liberals to assign the top EU jobs -
European Commission chief, European Council president, and
foreign policy chief - to their candidates as allegedly the work
of "oligarchs" who are allegedly ignoring the will of the
European electorate which pushed the right to strong gain in
last months European elections, making her Conservatrives and
Reformists Party (ECR) the third biggest group, just
outstripping the liberals.
According to that deal, former German defence minister Ursula
von der Leyen of the EPP will continue as EC chief while former
Portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa will become Council
president, and Estonian Premier Kaja Kallas will become High
Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
The trio is to be put to the Thursday-Friday European Council
meeting for approval.
EPP chair Manfred Weber of Germany said Thursday it was crucial
to include Italy in the talks on the new EU posts nominations.
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