European Parliament sets out time limits, evaluation process ahead of commissioner hearings

STRASBOURG — The European Parliament has divided up the 180 minutes available for each European commissioner hearing among the Parliament’s various political factions based on the size of each respective group, according to documents seen by POLITICO.
MEPs from the largest group, the center-right European People’s Party, will be allowed the most time to speak during commissioner confirmation hearings beginning Nov. 4.
In the first round, groups must distribute their allocated time in five-minute time slots among their own lawmakers.
Each slot breaks down into one minute for the question by the MEP, a two-minute answer by the commissioner-designate, a follow-up question from the same MEP, and finally a one-minute answer by the commissioner-designate.
In the second and final round groups will allocate three-minute slots to their members, which must include one minute for the MEP’s question and two minutes for the commissioner’s response.
A similar structure will be applied to the chairs of committees invited to give an opinion. Their assessments will not be binding for the final evaluation.
According to the documents, the evaluation process will be held behind closed doors with a limited group of Parliament Secretariat staff members and political groups. That includes the coordinators of the committees responsible for evaluating the commissioners, as well as the chair(s) of the invited committees who will convey their nonbinding opinions.
“The coordinators and members should [refrain] from making declarations to the press before the end of the evaluation procedure,” the document reads.
In the meeting, the coordinators will use a special template, previously agreed on by the Conference of Committee Chairs, “and state clearly whether, in the opinion of the committee(s), the candidate is qualified both to be member of the College and to carry out the particular duties he/she has been assigned.”
After the hearings, the evaluation meetings will take place “without delay.”
They will take place on the same day, within one hour after the hearing ends, according to a committee chair, who was granted anonymity to speak freely.
Based on this assessment, they will then decide whether to send additional written questions or whether they will summon the nominated commissioner for an extra hearing session. An additional hearing will need the approval of the Conference of Presidents.
If the coordinators do not find the two-thirds majority to approve the commissioner and decide not to send extra questions or organize an additional hearing, the question is put to a simple majority vote by a secret ballot to all members of the committees responsible for the evaluation.