"Wars" waged at EU: Revenge, false promises, battle for positions

"Wars" waged at EU: Revenge, false promises, battle for positions

In addition, one of the issues of "discord" within the Union is the alleged conflict of interest of one of the EU leaders, according to European media.

Instead of leading the EU into a more integrated post-Brexit era, three major institutions that have to cooperate to make the Union function effectively — the Council, Commission and Parliament — are fighting each other.

Following the May European elections, the Union pledged to fulfill the will of the voters and to address global issues such as climate change, trade wars, digital transformation and migration with timely and effective action.

Instead of that, on November 1, the day when the new EC President Ursula von der Leyen was due to take office, EU's capacity to act, let alone reinvent itself, seems increasingly elusive.

When von der Leyen takes office on December 1, barring further delays, her authority will have been undermined by clashes with Parliament, disagreements with national capitals and controversy about her appointments and the division of labor in her team, Politico reports.

This portal adds that EU’s capacity to fulfill the ambitious goals it has set itself has never seemed more unsure.

The surge in turnout in May's European elections showed that more citizens look to the EU for solutions, but the vote also yielded a more fragmented legislature. That means political coalitions will be harder to build, and policy will be harder to implement.

The center-right European People’s Party and the center-left Socialists no longer command a majority together. The emergence of Macron’s liberal Renew group, as the indispensable third partner in any pro-European coalition, has disrupted their cozy duopoly and destabilized the system.

New Parliament got its revenge with rejecting three candidates for the Commission, dealing a heavy blow to von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron with the disqualification of his candidate, Sylvie Goulard.

Many now seem to fear French hegemony in a post-Brexit EU more than they fear collective impotence in global affairs, Politico estimates. That’s bad news for von der Leyen, who won appointment by only a narrow nine votes in Parliament.

Politico concludes that a so-called European Green Deal, designed to speed up the EU’s halting transition to a low-carbon economy, will prove especially hard to steer through fragmented institutions, given the radical changes in lifestyle, habits and costs that it implies for citizens and businesses.