(Bloomberg) — Italy will get a chance to take on a senior role in the next European Commission, as centrist parties look to strike a deal over the bloc’s top jobs before a summit later this week.
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Leaders from six member states, representing Europe’s largest political groups, agreed on Tuesday to have a candidate chosen by Italy serve as one of the executive vice presidents in the next commission, people with knowledge of the talks said.
The deal includes nominating Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as head of the EU’s executive branch, and in that capacity she would negotiate with the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, the people said. It would be up to Meloni to decide who to nominate for the position, and up to Von der Leyen to decide on the specific role.
Awarding such a high post to a candidate chosen by Meloni, whose right-wing group soared in European elections earlier this month, is the smart and rational thing to do, one of the people said. The people all spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Major EU leaders have already agreed in principle on the top positions, but Meloni has loudly criticized the appointment process. She argued that since her group emerged among the election winners, she had the right to “claim a top role” for her country.
Even before the election, von der Leyen has carefully courted Meloni, including several visits to Italy to discuss migration issues, one of the Italian leader’s top concerns.
The offer of an executive vice-president role to Italy is aimed at easing the process of filling the EU’s top jobs when leaders meet in Brussels from Thursday. An executive vice president’s role in the commission structure traditionally involves influence over several key portfolios and overseeing the work of several commissioners.
Support from Meloni is seen as key to preventing leaders from outside the mainstream coalition from delaying an agreement. A meeting of leaders held last week on the subject ended without a formal agreement.
The package would see top jobs divided between the center-right European People’s Party, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s socialists and French President Emmanuel Macron’s liberals.
Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa will take over the leadership of the European Council, the body representing heads of state and government, while Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas will become the bloc’s top diplomat.
Major EU leaders have already agreed in principle on the top positions, but Meloni criticizes the appointment process. She argued that since her group emerged among the election winners, she had the right to “claim a top role” for her country.
Negotiators agreed on Tuesday that the issue that divided them last week – as they agree on who will hold the parliament and council presidency after the initial 2.5-year terms – should be decided at a later stage, according to the people .
–With help from Samy Adghirni.
(Updates with description of executive vice president role in seventh paragraph)
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