Suspected of conflicts of interest in his country, the current Minister of European Affairs in the government of Giorgia Meloni, sees his appointment contested by European socialists and centrists.
The hearings by the European Parliament of the twenty-six European commissioners designate end on Tuesday 12 November. The first twenty passed the test without a hitch, but that could change with the grand oral of the Italian Raffaele Fitto, the Minister of European Affairs in the government of Giorgia Meloni. Indeed, the socialists and centrists of Renew want Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European executive, to at least remove her title of “executive vice-president” in charge of the Common Agricultural Policy, Fisheries, Regional Funds and Transport, with three commissioners under his responsibility, and demotes him to the rank of simple commissioner. This is the first time that such an important position has been entrusted to a man belonging to a far-right party, which would constitute, according to these two political groups, a signal of normalization that is, to say the least, unfortunate.
But now, the main group in Parliament, the EPP (European Conservatives), has made it known that, in this case, it would not hesitate to ally itself with the extreme right (“the Patriots” chaired by Jordan's RN Bardella and the “Europe of sovereign nations” controlled by the neo-Nazis of the German AfD) to take down in retaliation an executive vice-president belonging to one of these two groups (socialists or Renew). He has already joined forces with them so that the Spaniard Teresa Ribera (socialist) and the Frenchman Stéphane Séjourné (Renaissance) have their audition this Tuesday, but after Fitto… The EPP is a master in the art of the small “I’ve got you by the goatee” game.
Certainly Fratelli d'Italia, Giorgia Meloni's party to which Raffaele Fitto belongs, is a member of the ECR group (conservative nationalists), which is not isolated behind the “sanitary cordon” as are “the Patriots” or “Europe of Sovereign Nations”, but it nonetheless remains far-right. Above all, the man, certainly the least Eurosceptic in the Italian government, carries around numerous pots dating from the time when he presided over the Puglia region between 2000 and 2005. Indeed, he was prosecuted for corruption, illegal taking of interests , illegal financing of a political party… He was, each time, acquitted or benefited from the statute of limitations.
Civil trials
But there you have it: the Italian daily The Fact revealed on September 18 that this had not put an end to the civil proceedings – the statute of limitations only applies to the criminal aspect – that the Puglia region initiated against him. The latter is thus claiming 400,000 euros in damages (which the Court of Cassation asked the Court of Appeal to requantify) for a public procurement case concerning the management of rest homes awarded to Antonio Angelucci, a boss of private clinics, now a deputy of the League, and 189,000 other euros for, according to Il Fatto, “the use of representation funds allocated to the president of the region for electoral purposes”.
However, these affairs appear to constitute a “conflict of interest” according to the code of conduct for members of the European Commission, since Fitto will be responsible for the allocation of “structural funds” (regional aid) to the Puglia region. Therefore, does he not risk being biased towards his region of origin, since his trials could cost him several hundred thousand euros? Especially since a “conflict of interest” can simply be “perceived” to be constituted. At the very least, therefore, Ursula von der Leyen should prohibit him from intervening in any decisions concerning Puglia.
In any case, this affair could allow socialist and centrist MEPs to put Giorgia Meloni's candidate and the EPP in difficulty at the same time without appearing to touch it. At least if they dare to ask the angry questions, which is not a given.
