The two largest political blocs in the European Parliament this evening reacted to Commissioner designate Karmenu Vella’s “grilling” performance.

In a statement the EPP said: “The EU must keep its leading role in environmental and maritime standards. Commissioner-Designate Karmenu Vella must be committed to the implementation of and future action on EU legislation. There is a lot to do. Clean air, efficient use of resources and the current Seventh EU Environment Action Programme.” As for the EU Birds Directive, the EPP called for the enforcement of existing legislation. "The Commissioner-Designate must keep a firm grip on the implementation of the EU Birds Directive, and also in his home country, Malta.”

On the other hand the S&D Group said “Maltese Commissioner-designate Karmenu Vella gave a convincing performance at today’s European Parliament hearing.” The group expressed its confidence that Mr Vella will boost the EU agenda on environment, fisheries and maritime policy and also help raise the political profile of the new Commission.

The Malta Independent spoke to four Maltese MEPs at the end of the hearing.

PN MEP Roberta Metsola said Mr Vella had come out strong on certain subjects but less so on others. “He was well prepared and gave good replies on hunting, sustainability and fisheries but he struggled on the issue of the environment. As a result we saw a number of MEPs, particularly from the Greens, express clear disappointment.”

Dr Metsola noted that Mr Vella will not be a Commissioner for Malta but for the whole EU. “We need a Commissioner that gives credibility to Malta. We now have to wait and see the verdict of the committee coordinators and hope for a positive outcome.”

David Casa said he had already spoken to some committee members and EPP coordinators who will be involved in drawing up a verdict. The PN MEP said Mr Vella was very well prepared on the subject of fisheries but when it came to the environment he had struggled badly. “There were some instances when I felt really uncomfortable. Having said that, this does not necessarily mean that the EPP reaction will be a negative one. But the documents that have to be signed by the coordinators will have to include criticism about Mr Vella’s lack of preparedness on some of the subjects.”

 

PN MEP Therese Comodini Cachia said Mr Vella had showed that he would be willing to discuss with the European Parliament and MEPs. On concern, or rather criticism by the Greens, Dr Comodini Cachia said some MEPs showed disappointment throughout the three hour-long session. “I believe, however, that they have understood that Mr Vella will be delving into more detail and listen to all parties and that is something that should work in his favour.”

 

 

PL MEP Alfred Sant said it was a “clear and honest” presentation that was “well received” by socialist MEPs who had told him as much. “He explained the challenges faced by the environment sector and he was very precise on the fisheries sector. He was calm and honest. The different sectors in his portfolio are facing huge challenges and he did not try to hide that fact.”

Speaking right after Mr Vella addressed the media, Giovanni La Via, Chair of the EP Committee on the Environment, noted that some of Mr Vella’s answers were not precise.

“Now we have the role to evaluate if the answers are enough for the Parliament or not. We have to keep in mind that two weeks is a short time to get to know everything about such a vast portfolio but I think that we have enough information to evaluate Mr Vella’s performance.”