The hearing was no picnic for me - Andris Piebalgs quizzed by the European Parliament
A really difficult start
On 11th of January Andris Piebalgs, the Latvian Commissioner-designate for Development, has had his hearing in front of the members of the European Parliament. The choice of Mr. Piebalgs as Development Commissioner was a real surprise for many. In the hearing, the Commissioner-designate gave clear and detailed answers to the MEPs.
After a really difficult start, with critical comments from several MEPs, Gay Mitchell failed him for not mentioning the DCI[1] and took up the issue of children’s right to health, highlighting the importance of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4. He asked Piebalgs to take responsibility for the 11 million children dying every year.
MEP Thijs Berman criticized the Commissioner-designate for not referring to human rights and Gabriele Zimmer (MEP) condemned his vague explanations on the Millennium Development Goals.
In preparation of the commissioner hearings, Plan Europe had successfully briefed MEPs such as Gay Mitchell and other parliamentarians on development and child rights relevant issues.
Piebalgs makes a comeback!
The situation shifted rapidly after a strong intervention by Pielbags after the first round. On more than one occasion Mr. Piebalgs stressed the importance to reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, insisting that National governments must stick to their promise to increase development aid to 0.7% of gross domestic product, even and more in times of financial crisis. He also emphasized the need "to maintain the EU's role as a champion of the developing world."
Furthermore, Mr. Piebalgs ensured the importance of European policy coherence in development issues. "It would be wrong to give money with one hand and take it away with another policy,” he emphasized. Piebalgs also supported the idea of placing the European Development Fund within the EU budget, a long-standing request of the Parliament, as it would give it more control over the fund.
The new structure of European external relations with the establishment of the External Action Service is still unclear, but Piebalgs said that he is looking forward to a fruitful cooperation with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton.
Finally, Mr. Piebalgs affirmed that he would engage with civil society and that he plans to meet with NGOs immediately after the hearings.
Plan EU office welcomed these statements of the incoming Commissioner and vowed to work with him and the Development Directorate in the future. Deepali Sood, Head of Plan EU Liaison office said, “We are pleased that the MEPs asked a number of pertinent questions to Mr. Piebalgs. Plan will closely monitor the Commissioner designates’ commitments and take up his offer of meeting with civil society organisations soon”.
[1] The Development Cooperation Instrument set targets for Health, Education and Scrutiny spending
