politjobs.eu job alert – Green Deal and other Brussels business

Whilst the current showdown between Boris Johnson, the UK Parliament and the Supreme Court in the UK are certainly the dinner talk of town, life moves on with or without Brexit discussions in Brussels. All lobbyists and Commission staff members will by now have read the mission letters at least to those Commissioner-candidates of particular relevance to them, and are curiously eying the emerging confirmations of cabinet members. Designated “Green Deal” commissioner Frans Timmermans certainly demonstrates that he means business, by appointing fellow Dutch Diederick Samson, who has chaired the negotiations for a Dutch Climate Agreement between more than 600 organisations.

Meanwhile, others still struggle with their portfolios’ meanings: Margaritis Schinas is tasked to protect Europe’s Way of Life”, which (amongst other issues) essentially means dealing with migration – and does not reflect European values and can easily be hijacked by right-wing extremists, as public protesters from various sides fear. Less controversial but still slightly awkward is designated executive vice president Valdis Domobrovskis’ job to ensure an economy that “works for the people” (who else, you would dare asking). Whilst we can expect most of these candidates to get approved by the European Parliament, the Parliament’s legal committee, in an extraordinary decision, has already rejected two even before any public hearings. History shows that in general a few – or at least one – need to be sacrificed, and the Parliament has certainly not forgotten the neglect of their Spitzenkandidat. The now starting hearings promise to be interesting.

Someone who has almost made it over the finish line is Romanian Laura Codruta Kövesi, who will most probably be appointed European Public Prosecutor, which would be a victory for the European Parliament – the Council had initially backed French candidat Jean-Francois Bohnert, and Romania had done everything possible to put Kövesi’s reputation into question – achieving exactly the opposite.

Almost no news outlet gets by without mentioning climate these days: the Fridays for Future movement has been calling out a Global Climate Strike from 20 to 27 September, coinciding with the UN Climate Summit. Intentionally or not, Brussels enjoyed a car-free Sunday last week and measured pollution levels: 70% down! If non-car free Brussels does not scare you and you want to contribute on either side of the climate discussion or in other dossiers, find some jobs attached and as usual more on politjobs.eu!

Irina Michalowitz