Commission nominee

Commenting on the hearing of Commission nominee Tonio Borg and his candidacy, Greens/EFA co-presidents Rebecca Harms and Dany Cohn-Bendit said:

“While Mr Borg demonstrated reasonable knowledge of most files in his prospective portfolio, the Greens/EFA group has concerns about his personal independence and convictions, which were not dispelled during the hearing, and will reject his nomination. 

“Given the existing questions that had been raised with regard to his positions on sensitive issues related to his prospective role as commissioner - notably on reproductive health, women’s and minority rights (LGBT issues) - his responses did little to dispel these concerns. Many of the answers given in the hearing were evasive where clarity was needed, particularly given the context of his previous statements. Furthermore an EU commissioner should not simply abide by the Treaties 'whether he likes them or not', as stated by Mr Borg, a commissioner must defend the Treaties and develop new policies based thereon."  

Greens/EFA environment committee coordinator Satu Hassi said: 

“Despite welcoming some of Mr Borg's statements on specific files – such as his commitment to the swift adoption of a proposal to strengthen the tobacco directive, to the precautionary principle with regard to GMO authorisations, to a proposal by June 2013 for the prohibition of cloning for food and to full adherence to the marketing ban of cosmetic ingredients tested on animals– the Greens/EFA group will not be able to endorse his candidacy due to the concerns over his convictions, which he has failed to dispel.”