Serafin began with a bow to the European Parliament. This is the institution with which he has had the least interaction so far in his career as an EU official and he knows that he must develop relations with it. He assured that cooperation with MEPs would be important to him not only during the hearing, but also during the term.
Priorities: new financial framework and security
Serafin's most important task will be the preparation of the new multiannual financial framework of the European Union (MFF). They will shape the EU's actions over the next few years. The Pole emphasized that the EU should finance its common priorities “to an even greater extent than before”: competitiveness, cohesion, digitalization, agriculture and environmental protection.
But – and he devoted a longer part of his speech to this – “security and defense are also becoming a priority and there is no way around it” in a situation where “wars are raging in and around Europe and alliances are facing new challenges.” However, he later avoided answering the question of how the European Commission will act if the new US President Donald Trump declares a tariff war on the EU, emphasizing that he “does not want to speculate.”
In a personal statement, the candidate for commissioner mentioned that in his youth he lived six kilometers from the base of Soviet soldiers stationed in Poland at that time. – Those who know what it means to live in a country dominated by foreigners, without respect for individual rights and civil liberties, understand what a great value a strong and united EU is – he said.
In Serafin's opinion, defense funds in the current MFF are insufficient. He announced that it would be necessary to talk to the European Investment Bank and other institutions regarding their increase.
Quick response and own resources
Serafin wants the new Multiannual Financial Framework to combine reforms with investments. He assessed that the “money for reforms” model worked under the RRF model (reconstruction fund after the coronavirus pandemic) because it forced member states to implement the reforms they had been holding back. He emphasized that he wants to develop plans for these reforms in dialogue with both the capitals of the Member States and the regions – this is a nod to local government authorities in EU countries.
Poles see the European Competitiveness Fund as a lever to strengthen the economy. He lamented that the EU's ability to transition from a well-developed research and development sector to the “real economy” is failing – in this context, he assessed that Europe “cannot remain a mere spectator” of how new technologies are revolutionizing its various fields.
In the opinion of the Polish candidate for commissioner, it will also be important that the new budget allows the EU to quickly respond to crises – be it wars, natural disasters, climate change or problems with energy supplies. Serafin also wants to simplify the budget and reduce the number of programs and funds – or rather standardize them, so that potential beneficiaries are not overwhelmed by bureaucratic regulations.
An important issue to which he returned several times was encouraging member states to look for new sources of EU revenues (so-called own resources). – Either we increase the contributions from member states or acquire new own resources – he said and added that his task was to work on new own resources.
Therefore, in 2025, he wants to put pressure on the authorities of the Member States to agree to new taxes, among others. on CO2 emissions and imposing taxes on international mega-corporations. This is where new own resources of the EU budget could come from.
Money for the rule of law
The Polish candidate for commissioner clearly emphasized that he wanted to build “a close link between the report on the rule of law and the EU budget”, and thanked the Parliament for fighting for the rule of law in the Union. The previous right-wing conservative Polish government repeatedly clashed with Brussels and its courts, which condemned the authorities' violations of the rule of law.
Serafin's political mentor, the current Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, came to power, among others. under the banner of defending the courts and restoring the rule of law. However, when questioned by the Renew faction, Serafin did not indicate at this stage the specific means by which he would like to enforce this obligation, explaining that in this respect he must cooperate with the Commissioner for Justice.
Serafin is also responsible for, among others: for the fight against financial fraud and in this respect he recalled that in recent years the EU has built new institutions to fight organized crime, and he intends to strengthen them. He emphasized the role of the so-called OLAF – the European Anti-Fraud Office as a tool to efficiently bring fraudsters to justice.
The EU budget must be bigger
During the hearing, Piotr Serafin admitted that the EU budget would not be able to solve all the problems. At one point he said that he would probably be one of the less liked commissioners, because he would have to say “no” often. However, he stressed that the new multiannual financial framework must exceed the current threshold of one percent of total EU GDP.
However, throughout the three hours of confrontation with MEPs, he carefully avoided giving any amounts on any issues – emphasizing that it was simply too early for that.
From the rule of law to biodiversity
MEPs asked Serafin, among others: for the rule of law. Green MP Daniel Freund pressed him about Viktor Orban. Hungary still receives EU funds – although not all of them – and also pays fines. Serafin said that there is a “difference between politics and law”, and if the EU wants to turn off Orban's money, it must do so on the basis of the law. He added that he would stick to it – and pledged to strengthen EU tools to protect the rule of law.
MPs also asked, among others: about cohesion policy, funds for building gender equality in the EU, funds for climate and biodiversity – here Serafin assessed that the current level of the EU solidarity fund is too small for the era of climate change, assured that “the principle of no significant damage will apply to the entire budget ” and emphasized that the costs of EU decarbonization fall on individual households.
He did not forget about supporting the EU's housing policy, which in the new phase will get its own commissioner and will be the apple of the eye of the Socialists and Democrats faction. Serafin, who obviously cares about the coalition partner's vote, estimated that the share of regional funds in housing financing could double.
The commissioner candidate also admitted that cohesion policy – one of the most important EU policies, a gigantic allocator of money for EU regions, must change because member states spend the money allocated to them too slowly.
However, it is difficult to expect that this policy will be subject to drastic restrictions – commissioners may be assumed to be supranational officials, but the largest beneficiary of the cohesion fund is Serafin's home country – Poland. Most of the time, the future manager of the EU budget also emphasized the importance of regions as key players in this budget.
Green light for Serafin
Serafin dealt with most of the questions efficiently. The MEPs did not catch him in ignorance, and at the end of the almost three-hour question and answer session – he was the first commissioner to show up ahead of time, which was noted with satisfaction in the Antalla Chamber in the Brussels headquarters of the European Parliament – he received applause. Smiling broadly – which contrasts with the label of an official cyborg – he emphasized that over the last two months he had met “most of the people present in the room.” It seems to be effective. The green light came very quickly – the budget and budget control committees accepted his candidacy.
During the session of November 25-28, the European Parliament will vote on the entire Commission. Then, only a formal appointment by the European Council and the EU government – more than half a year after the EP elections – will be able to start operating.
The article comes from the website Deutsche Welle.