AI avatars and political bickering spice up EU top team hearings

Featuring slips of the tongue, AI bots and barrages of questions, the first batch of confirmation hearings for the EU's new top team closed without major upsets on Thursday, ahead of a likely tenser finale next week.

All but one of the 20 would-be commissioners grilled by lawmakers since Monday were given a parliamentary green light to serve in EU chief Ursula von der Leyen's new European Commission.

The outlier was Hungary's Oliver Varhelyi, an ally of nationalist prime minister and Brussels rebel Viktor Orban who once called lawmakers "idiots". His fate will be decided early next week.

Sandro Gozi, of the centrist Renew group, said Varhelyi, the outgoing commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement, was "unfit" for another mandate -- this time in charge of health and animal welfare.

"He was a very bad commissioner and had a bad hearing," Gozi said, adding that Varhelyi has proven to be "not impartial, not independent and at the sole service of Orban".

The hearings offer the EU parliament a rare chance to flex its muscles against the bloc's powerful executive.

Since 2004, at least one candidate has been canned during the five-yearly exercise. Three were turned down in 2019.

Things have so far been smoother this time round.

Observers say parliamentary groups have proved unwilling to turn the process into a political fight and risk a chain reaction by going too heavy on a candidate from a rival party.

Sweden's Jessika Roswall, tapped for an environmental portfolio, failed to impress lawmakers on the left but was saved after backroom horse-trading saw her approval linked to that of Belgium's Hadja Lahbib.

Initially seen as vulnerable due to his young age and relative inexperience, Malta's Glenn Micallef gave a solid performance, winning a quick go-ahead.

Sex, bots and vice-presidents

Each nominee was quizzed for three hours, a draining process that nevertheless provided for some lighter moments.

Ireland's Michael McGrath was asked if he could do better than an AI-generated avatar of himself who one lawmaker said had provided only "generic" answers to her inquiries about his positions on child protection online.

A far-right lawmaker was cut short for exceeding the allotted time for a question while talking about freedom of expression.

And the number "six" was briefly turned into "sex" by Croatia's Dubravka Suica, who was however quick to correct herself.

The mood might sour next week, when von der Leyen's six vice-presidential candidates will be heard.

The Socialists and Democrats -- the second-largest group in parliament -- are unhappy with the decision to hand one of the powerful roles to Italy's Raffaele Fitto, of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy party.

"Von der Leyen created a problem with this vice-presidency," socialist lawmaker Christophe Clergeau said of Fitto.

Clergeau's fellow French colleagues were pushing for the group to vote against confirming the entire college of commissioners on November 27 if the Italian is not stripped of the vice-president role, he said.

This could however cause problems for one of their own candidates, Spain's Teresa Ribera, also a designated vice-president, who could face a harsher grilling in return.

A socialist with a vast environmental portfolio, she will have to reassure sceptical right-wingers of her commitment to pair climate goals with growth.

The commission is one of the world's most formidable regulators, enforcing European law on key issues such as trade, competition and tech.

Each EU state has nominated one member to serve on the body.

They have been allocated portfolios by von der Leyen based on personal experience as well as political and national clout.

The team is to start a five-year term in early December.