Malta got the short end of the stick in Von der Leyen’s team… and this is why

Glenn Micallef will be responsible for intergenerational fairness, youth, culture and sports in the new European Commission if he is approved by the European Parliament.

It is a qualified ‘if’ because Micallef is touted within the corridors of Brussels as one of the commissioner-designates who will be put through the wringer by MEPs.

All commissioners in Ursula von der Leyen’s new team will undergo grilling sessions in the European Parliament over the coming weeks. It is one of those few moments when MEPs get to flex their muscles and since 2004 the parliament has rejected at least one nominee in every new Commission.

The Brussels-based Politico, a news portal, identified Malta’s nominee as one of five commissioners ‘most likely to get the chop’. Describing Micallef as ‘the newbie’, the reason Politico gives is his lack of experience.

MaltaToday had reported similar remarks a few weeks ago made by several sources in the Maltese government and in Brussels, questioning the suitability of Micallef’s choice.

Von der Leyen had asked national governments to put forward prospective commissioners with “executive competence”. The highest posting Micallef had was head of secretariat at the Office of the Prime Minister and Robert Abela’s ‘sherpa’ in Brussels – a far cry from the political, ministerial and diplomatic experience normally associated with commissioner postings.

Nonetheless, if Micallef does manage to convince MEPs that he has the competence to fulfil his role – he is knowledgeable about EU affairs and the Brussels machinations involved to clinch deals – the portfolio he will manage has little significance on an EU level. It is indeed the weakest portfolio Malta has ever bagged since it joined the EU in 2004 and one commensurate with his level of experience.

The word that irked Castille

When MaltaToday described Micallef’s portfolio as ‘weak’ on the day Von der Leyen unveiled her choices, the highest echelons of the Maltese government went into a frenzy trying to convince us otherwise.

“He will have a big budget”, “he will have a DG”, we were told privately in a concerted effort to convince us to tweak the headline.

Publicly, the Prime Minister went into overdrive describing the portfolio as “one of the strongest” as he thanked Von der Leyen for trusting Micallef with it.

Glenn Micallef (background) seen here accompanying Prime Minister Robert Abela during a summit of EU leaders in Brussels (File photo)

And then the European-based news networks gave their verdict: ‘The Maltese candidate’s lack of experience as a minister and short political career led to a portfolio with little relevance at the European level and even less clout’, Politico said of Glenn Micallef, while putting him top of the ‘losers’ category; ‘Another country that drew the short straw was Malta, which lobbied to capture the novel portfolio for the Mediterranean but ended up with Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport’, Euronews screamed.

It is a known fact that Robert Abela had been lobbying hard for the newly created Mediterranean portfolio, an idea Malta had floated some months back. The Prime Minister himself had indicated as much during an interview with RTK editor-in-chief Matthew Xuereb at the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta at the start of summer.

Von der Leyen assigned the Mediterranean portfolio, which includes relations with the southern neighbourhood, to the Croatian nominee.

But other players in the cultural and youth sectors were also taken aback by MaltaToday’s description of Micallef’s portfolio as ‘weak’ – at a very superficial level they interpreted the language as a jibe towards culture, sports and young people. It is anything but.

A third-tier competence

The truth is that Micallef has been handed a portfolio that is a sliver of what it was in the outgoing Commission when education and research and development also formed part of the package.

But more significantly, the fields of culture, sport and youth are neither sole competences of the EU nor shared competences. Indeed, they fall in the third tier, where the EU’s competences are limited to “support, coordinate or supplement the actions of the Member States”.

Glenn Micallef's portfolio is a third-tier competence in which the EU has little influence

This is what makes the portfolio ‘weak’ and of little relevance at EU level. And it jars when compared to the portfolios Malta has had in the past.

The competences of the EU are defined in the EU Treaties, specifically in articles two to six of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

There are competences that are exclusive to the EU, which include the customs union and competition rules defining the internal market. These are normally the portfolios that carry a lot of weight at EU level and which the big countries aim for to wield influence.

And then there are the competences that are shared between the EU and the member states such as the environment, energy, transport and security. These are areas where the Brussels executive can exert a lot of influence with some areas coveted more than others.

Previous Maltese commissioners held portfolios such as fisheries, the environment and health that fell within the category of shared competences. Indeed, in the area of marine conservation, which was associated to the fisheries portfolios held by Joe Borg and Karmenu Vella, the EU has exclusive competence.

Helena Dalli’s equality portfolio although not specifically mentioned in the areas of competence outlined in the Treaties is a core value of the EU enshrined in articles eight and 10.

The level of influence Micallef could be expected to wield is nowhere near that of all his predecessors.

Portfolios held by Maltese commissioners

• Joe Borg (2004-2009) – Maritime affairs and fisheries (Article 4 competencies and Article 3 for conservation of marine biological resources)
• John Dalli (2009-2012) – Health and consumer policy (Article 4)
• Tonio Borg (2012-2014) – Health and consumer policy (Article 4)
• Karmenu Vella (2014-2019) – Environment, maritime affairs and fisheries (Article 4 and Article 3 for conservation of marine biological resources)
• Helena Dalli (2019-2024) – Equality (although equality is not mentioned in the areas of competence, it is a core value of the EU enshrined in Articles 8 and 10)
• Glenn Micallef (2024-2029) – Intergenerational fairness, culture, sport and youth (Article 6)

Mission letter

Micallef’s mission letter penned by Von der Leyen outlines the work he is expected to focus on in the coming five years if approved by parliament.

In the first 100 days, he is expected to coordinate the first in a series of annual policy dialogues for young people. This initiative falls squarely within Micallef’s role of giving “young people greater freedom and responsibility”.

The Maltese commissioner-designate will also help set up the President’s Youth Advisory Board to advise on issues that matter to peers in their community and act as a sounding board for ideas developed by the Commission. He may very well take a leaf out of the Maltese government’s own Youth Advisory Forum, which was set up by the Office of the Prime Minister last year.

A meeting of the Youth Advisory Forum in Castille: Micallef is tasked to create a similar forum at EU level to advise the Commission (Photo: DOI)

A more significant task will be to “focus” on the impact of social media and excessive screen time on young people. “You will lead the work on an action plan against cyberbullying,” Von der Leyen told Micallef in her letter.

Micallef is also tasked to develop a new “cultural compass”, which will take the form of a “strategic framework to guide and harness the multiple dimensions of culture”.

And in sport, Micallef will be the EU’s ambassador at large engaging with partners around the world.

He will be working under the guidance of the executive vice-president for people, skills and preparedness, a portfolio handed to Romanian nominee Ruxana Minzatu.

Culture, sport and youth are undoubtedly important policy areas with social, health and economic implications. However, Micallef the EU commissioner will carry very little clout on the European stage because competency for these areas lies with national governments.

This is why we said Malta bagged a weak portfolio and for no other reason.

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EU competencies

EU competencies are outlined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Source EU official website. 

Exclusive competence: Article 3 

Customs union; establishing competition rules necessary for the functioning of the internal market; monetary policy for the Member States whose currency is the euro; the conservation of marine biological resources under the common fisheries policy; common commercial policy; and conclusion of international agreements when provided in legislative acts of the Union or necessary to enable the bloc to exercise its internal competence. 

Shared competence: Article 4 

The Union shares competence with the Member States where the Treaties confer on it a competence which does not relate to the areas referred to in Articles 3 and 6. 

Shared competence between the Union and the Member States applies in the following principal areas: Internal market; social policy, for the aspects defined in this Treaty; economic, social and territorial cohesion; agriculture and fisheries, excluding the conservation of marine biological resources; environment; consumer protection; transport; trans-European networks; energy; area of freedom, security and justice; and common safety concerns in public health matters. 

In research, technological development and space, the Union shall have competence to carry out activities, in particular to define and implement programmes; however, the exercise of that competence shall not result in Member States being prevented from exercising theirs. 

In the areas of development cooperation and humanitarian aid, the Union shall have competence to carry out activities and conduct a common policy; however, the exercise of that competence shall not result in Member States being prevented from exercising theirs. 

Coordination: Article 5 

The Member States shall coordinate their economic policies within the Union. To this end, the Council shall adopt measures, in particular broad guidelines for these policies. 

Specific provisions shall apply to those Member States whose currency is the euro. 

The Union shall take measures to ensure coordination of the employment policies of the Member States, in particular by defining guidelines for these policies. The Union may take initiatives to ensure coordination of Member States' social policies. 

Support, coordinate and supplement: Article 6

The Union shall have competence to carry out actions to support, coordinate or supplement the actions of the Member States. The areas of such action shall, at European level, be: Protection and improvement of human health; industry; culture; tourism; education, vocational training, youth and sport; civil protection; administrative cooperation.