Timmermans is considered the preferred candidate of the Social Democratic Party and the Green Party Groenlinks.
(Photo: AP)
Brussels Frans Timmermans, one of the best-known EU commissioners, is leaving the Brussels stage after almost ten years. There has been speculation for days about his move into national politics, and now he has made it official. He wanted to run as the top candidate for the new red-green alliance in the early parliamentary elections in November, he said on Thursday.
His social democratic party and the green party Groenlinks decided a few days ago to run for the first time in the parliamentary elections with a joint list. Timmermans still has to be officially elected as a candidate, but the party’s freestyle in August is considered a formality. Timmermans is the preferred candidate for both parties. According to Brussels, the social democrat is “greener than green” and better known than any of its competitors.
Once elected as a candidate, Timmermans will have to leave the commission. The authority then loses one of its most prominent politicians. Along with Valdis Dombrovskis and Margrethe Vestager, he is one of the three deputies of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU).
Since 2019 he has been the architect of the “Green Deal”, the most important project of the von der Leyen Commission. Revered by the Greens, hated by the Conservatives – opinions differ on the militant Social Democrats.
Most recently, the 62-year-old pushed through the law for the restoration of nature in the European Parliament – against the bitter resistance of the European People’s Party (EPP) under group leader Manfred Weber. In the EPP, no tears will be shed for him, according to faction circles.
Industry relief?
Relief is also likely to prevail in the German automotive and chemical industries. In the dispute over the combustion engine, Timmermans was the main opponent of Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP). Even within the Commission, some see the environmental activist Timmermans critically – such as his trading colleague Dombrovskis, who would like to conclude new trade agreements without too strict environmental regulations.
The Greens, on the other hand, are already mourning the loss of their most important ally. The Commission is losing the “visionary master builder of the Green Deal,” said MEP Michael Bloss. “He fought tirelessly against the fossil lobby and the opponents of European climate protection.”
Von der Leyen will have to make a major restructuring of their management team after the summer. Because in addition to Timmermans, she also loses Vestager in August. The competition commissioner is applying for the post of head of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and must therefore leave the commission. The departure of the two heavyweights will not make it any easier to complete the many open legislative projects before the European elections in June 2024.
Most of the draft legislation for the “Green Deal” has already been launched. Timmermans’ work is largely done there. No new proposals are planned for the remainder of the legislative period.
However, his critics in Brussels should not be happy. The relief at his departure from the Commission could be short-lived, says an insider of Dutch politics. Timmermans has a good chance of returning as prime minister. Then he could pursue his agenda in the Council of Member States.
More: Timmermans on the phone with Wissing: The EU Commission and Germany are converging on e-fuels