As the Commission hearings kick off, Maroš Šefčovič, vice-president-designate for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, received strong support from MEPs following a joint hearing with the constitutional affairs committee and the legal affairs committee today in the European Parliament. With previous experience of two Commission mandates, Šefčovič proved himself convincing and committed as a candidate that will push Europe in a more progressive and forward-looking direction in his leading role in the new Commission over the next five years.

 

 

“Maroš Šefčovič will have an important role in bringing the European institutions closer together in the next Commission mandate. The S&D Group is committed to putting citizens at the heart of the EU and we will support the Commissioner-designate in working hand-in-hand with MEPs at all stages of law making. We also want to build up more trust in the EU and that starts with being more open, more transparent and with protecting citizens' rights at every opportunity. Maroš Šefčovič has proven to us that he is ready to deliver this.”

 

 

“Over the next five years, vice-president-designate Šefčovič has the opportunity to bring citizens closer to EU decision-making by boosting the role of the European Parliament. This will give people a real say in the decisions that affect their lives. Our Group will fully support Maroš Šefčovič in developing a new right of initiative for the Parliament and delivering on commitments to ensure a right of inquiry for MEPs. Through the Conference on the Future of Europe, we are also confident that the Commissioner-designate will promote the conference as an instrument to foster the badly-needed institutional reform of the EU together with citizens and social partners.”

 

Tiemo Wölken, S&D coordinator in the Legal Affairs committee said:

 

“Vice-president -designate Šefčovič gave a solid performance during his hearing today and displayed both the competence and experience needed to deliver for EU citizens. With better law making in his portfolio, our Group is convinced that Šefčovič will have his sights on quality and not just on quantity over the next five years to avoid taking a narrow view of simplifying EU law. We underlined that any ‘One in, One out’ policy cannot be a question of pure mathematics. With Maroš Šefčovič at the helm, we can also make sure that any initiatives on better law making to facilitate artificial intelligence do not undermine fundamental rights for citizens like data protection and privacy.”