Finland’s candidate for the next commissioner is Meppi Henna Virkkunen,says the Prime Minister Petteri Orpo at the party meeting in Tampere. According to Orpo, Virkkunen, who sat in the European Parliament for two terms, is known as a team player and a tough EU expert.
Orpo said that the election of the coalition as the next commissioner will hardly come as a surprise to anyone.
“Today, more is demanded of our value community, the European Union, than ever before. And the EU must fulfill these expectations. The EU must be able to create more security for us, improve its competitiveness and uphold the rule of law,” Orpo said in his policy speech to the coalition.
“The coalition’s support in the EU parliamentary elections is proof that Finns trust our party’s pro-European, open and credible line,” he continued.
Orpo reminded that he had set as his starting point before the elections that he would be appointed to the commission through the European elections.
“Our candidate is known as a competent and hardworking person both at home and in Brussels. Based on these starting points, Finland has a good chance of getting a weighty portfolio in the next commission. I have had the opportunity to closely follow his career as a Member of Parliament, holder of several ministerial portfolios and now for two terms as a member of the European Parliament. We know him as a team player”, Orpo described Virkku.
According to the Prime Minister, Finland’s goals for the Commission’s next term are strengthening safety, improving competitiveness and promoting the bioeconomy.
Orpo reminded that the coalition’s parliamentary group, the center-right EPP, will continue to be the largest group in the parliament after the elections.
“Our top candidate Ursula von der Leyenhe has good expectations to continue leading the commission in the next term as well,” Orpo said.
Orpo described that he had spoken with von der Leyen several times about security, the situation on the eastern border and Eastern Finland. Orpo said that von der Leyen’s continuation as head of the commission would be a good thing for Finland.
“I dare say that Finland has a good friend in him.”
Which portfolio of commissioners will Finland negotiate?
Prime Minister Orpo and commissioner candidate Virkkunen organized a press conference where they commented on Finland’s positions on the commissioner negotiations.
Orpo did not say directly which portfolio of commissioners Finland will negotiate. According to him, the main goals are security and European competitiveness.
“Below these two big entities, we are of course interested in more [salkut]. Let’s see where that influence is,” Orpo said.
According to Orpo, the commissioner’s portfolio is determined during the negotiation process with the candidate for the president of the commission. The commissioners are chosen based on the proposals of the member states by the president of the commission, who may also be the EPP’s German Christian Democrat Ursula von der Leyen next term.
Who is the alternate candidate?
The prime minister did not answer New Finland’s question about who is the coalition’s second candidate for commissioner, if the future president of the commission requires both a male and a female candidate from the member states. Von der Leyen demanded this when the commission was organized last time.
“If such a situation comes up, we think about it in that moment. We start from the fact that we have a clear candidate and we start discussions with Henna’s name. The commission’s problem has been rather that there are plenty of male candidates available from other countries,” Orpo replied.
Von der Leyen’s continuation is still open
Orpo and Virkkunen praised their relationship with von der Leyen, who is believed to be strong for another term as the head of the commission. However, the choice has not been announced in the church, because von der Leyen needs both the support of the European Council, which consists of the leaders of the member states, and the majority of the parliament behind him.
Orpo emphasized that Finland has very good relations with European leaders and political groups. According to him, there would be no worries even if von der Leyen was not chosen as the president of the Commission.
“We have good conditions for Ursula von der Leyen to get another season. Now it is crucial that a motion is created at the summit and that a sufficient majority is obtained in the European Parliament to support his election. The negotiations will start next week on the side of the parliament, when the parliamentary groups organize themselves”, Virkkunen pointed out.
“The goal would be, if everything goes well, that on July 18 the parliament will meet and then the commission chairman would be voted on,” Orpo said.
The next president of the commission is scheduled to be voted on between 16 and 19. September, if the nomination of the chairman candidate is extended.
The defense commissioner’s portfolio speaks for itself
Virkkunen and Orpo emphasized that the position of defense commissioner, which may be established, will focus on the defense industry, because defense matters are the responsibility of the member states. Von der Leyen has said that he will establish the position if he is elected for another term. At the moment, the hottest name in speculation for defense commissioner is the Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski.
“We should see if it brings us added value before we start our entire lobbying machinery to get a portfolio, when we are not sure if it will come and what its contents are,” Orpo commented on the matter of the defense commissioner.