After the political case, the backtracking. Markus Pieper will not be the EU envoy for SMEs (and he attacks Breton)

Brussels – ‘Piepergate’ may have come to an end with a last-minute twist. After the bitter controversy that erupted inside and outside the European Commission following the appointment of MEP Markus Pieper as EU envoy for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), on the eve of taking up the post, the head of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) delegation to the European Parliament took a step back, renouncing the post entrusted to him by the President of the EU executive – and fellow party member – Ursula von der Leyen. The early resignation was not a given but was not so surprising either, coming at the end of a selection process that has raised not a few concerns about the ability of the Commission chief to take political responsibility for her (even forced) choices.

Von der Leyen, in a statement on Monday (April 15) on Pieper’s backtracking, explained that she “respects and regrets” the decision of the SME envoy she appointed and showed no second thoughts despite weeks of political and media fuss: “Markus Pieper is a proven SME expert and prevailed in a multi-stage selection process.” In contrast, von der Leyen wanted to emphasize “The autonomy of each EU institution in the appointment of its senior officials must be respected,” a sibylline attack on the European Parliament, which only last week rejected by an overwhelming majority vote in a Plenary session the choice of Commission President. When Pieper was supposed to take up the post starting today (April 16) — the contract signing had come on March 31, Easter Sunday — von der Leyen decided to suspend the reopening of the selection procedures for the position of EU SME envoy “until after the European elections.”

 Pieper’s resignation late yesterday afternoon came with a frontal attack by the German MEP on the European commissioner in charge of the Internal Market and to whom the EU envoy for SMEs, Thierry Breton, is expected to report. “In view of the fact that Breton boycotted my inauguration within the Commission in advance, at the moment I see no possibility of fulfilling the legitimate expectations associated with the post,” Pieper told the German daily Handelsblatt, pointing the finger at the “bad style and motivated solely by party politics” (Breton is an independent, but the European commissioner chosen by the French president, Emmanuel Macron).

European Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton

“I take note of Mr. Pieper’s resignation following the vote by the European Parliament last week,” was the laconic response of the Internal Market Commissioner himself:  he wrote this morning in a post on X, remarking that “transparency and collegiality are and should always remain our cardinal values.” Breton did not spare a dig at the President on the Board of Commissioners either, specifically regarding the timing of the reopening of the selection process: “I hope that this important position for SMEs will be filled as soon as possible.”

The ‘Piepergate’ case

It all started on January 31 when the European Commission’s services announced the appointment of Pieper as EU envoy for SMEs -to keep a “close relationship” with national business representatives -taking office “subsequently” and reporting directly to President von der Leyen and Commissioner Breton. According to reports from the Commission, Pieper had “extensive experience and expertise in SME policies” as a member of the European Parliament’s  Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) in this legislature (he has been an MEP since 2004) and would have demonstrated “a commendable track record” in strategic relations “with a diverse range of stakeholders, demonstrating strong leadership, advocacy, and negotiating skills.”

The head-delegation of the CDU in the European Parliament, Markus Pieper

Twelve MEPs from the Green/Ale, S&D, Renew Europe, and The Left groups raised the first doubts about the selection of Christian Democrat Pieper in a written question dated February 29. The Commission was asked to respond on the “additional qualifications” that allowed Pieper to outperform the other candidates in the selection process and on “questions about the transparency of the process and the influence of the Commission President.” It is no coincidence that Czech MEP Martina Dlabajová (Renew Europe), a candidate for the post, immediately appealed to the Commission’s Directorate-General for Human Resources.
After the parliamentary question on ‘Piepergate’ remained ignored for a month by President von der Leyen, on March 27, four members of the College – in addition to Breton, also Paolo Gentiloni (in charge of Economy), Nicolas Schmit (Labor and Social Rights, as well as Spitzenkandidat of the European Socialist Party) and Josep Borrell (Vice-President of the Commission and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy) – wrote a letter to the president of the Commission to explicitly request a discussion “at the earliest possible opportunity” within the College on “these allegations and the possible impact on the next steps in the hiring process” of Pieper. In addition to party affiliations (Gentiloni, Schmit, and Borrell are social democrats, Breton is a liberal), the four commissioners allegedly took action as President von der Leyen bypassed  the  recommendation in favor of Dlabajová Breton, who was responsible for judging the most suitable candidate.

Responding to the four commissioners’ letter was fellow Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn – also from the European People’s Party family like von der Leyen and Pieper – who, as a proxy to the President, assured that “the decision is fully in line with the rules.” However, the same four commissioners addressed a second letter to von der Leyen, pointing the finger at the fact that the appointment did not consider the rule of collegiality that requires the participation of all Commissioners in the selection process. This is why half the College is reportedly up in arms against the President, with seven other members dissatisfied: Margrethe Vestager(Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Competition), Věra Jourová (Vice-President for Values and Transparency), Didier Reynders (Justice), Elisa Ferreira (Cohesion and Reforms), Kadri Simson(Energy), Janez Lenarčič (Crisis Management), and Helena Dalli (Equality).

The circle was closed on the last Plenary session of the European Parliament on Thursday (April 11), when 382 MEPs (out of 606) from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Renew Europe, Greens/Ale, The Left, and Identity and Democracy groups voted against Pieper’s nomination through an amendment to the European Commission’s 2022 budget discharge under the first signature of Daniel Freund (Greens/Ale). “The European Parliament notes with concern that the successful candidate is an outgoing MEP from President von der Leyen‘s German political party,” is the complaint in the amendment approved by the MEPs, who urged the Commission to “remediate the situation by revoking the nomination, and initiating a truly transparent and open process for the selection of the EU SME envoy.” Only the European People’s Party — in addition to the abstention of the European Conservatives and Reformists — supported von der Leyen and the choice of a fellow party member from the CDU (a member party of the European family of Populars, precisely).