[WATCH] Glenn Micallef calmly navigates through uneventful MEP grilling

Malta’s nominee for European Commissioner Glenn Micallef has pledged to uphold "diversity, fairness and solidarity", which he described as the cornerstones of European values in his opening address at his Brussels' hearing.

Micallef was questioned by MEPs on Monday over his prospective role within the next European Commission. The initial reactions filtering from the corridors in Brusels in the aftermath of the grilling were positive, indicating there should be no major problems to prevent Micallef from joining the European Commission.

As commissioner-designate for intergenerational solidarity, youth, culture, and sport, Micallef fielded questions from MEPs from the lead committee Culture and Education, and other MEPs from the committees covering employment and social affairs, civil liberties, justice and home affiars, and legal affairs.

The 35-year-old former head of secretariat at the Office of the Prime Minister lacks executive experience despite his knowledge of European affairs. He is the youngest prospective member of the Brussels executive. Nonetheless, MEPs overlooked his age and did not ask direct questions about his lack of experience.

In his 15-minute introductory speech, Micallef told MEPs that his European journey had started as an intern at the European Parliament, calling it "a twist of fate" that he was now standing before parliament for his confirmation hearing.

Micallef immediately after mentioned Ukraine, insisting "the brave people of Ukraine" were not only defending their land but also "our values". "We will support Ukraine for as long as it takes," he said.

Micallef then took a short trip down memory lane, recalling Malta's EU membership 20 years ago. "I was there for the celebrations at the Grand Harbour... EU membership changed my life," he told MEPs.

Referring to inter-generational fairness, Micallef said collective responsibility was necessary for holistic responses. "We must ensure the voices of all generations are listened to," he said.

He added that it is "essential" to engage youth because this was an imperative for European democracy. "I will work tirelessly to give them a seat around the table," Micallef said.

READ ALSO: Glenn Micallef’s questionnaire | A nod to MEPs, volunteers, Ukraine and the French

"Our democracy is under threat. We can only protect democracy with our youth on board. Without our youth, the future of the European project already lies in the past," he added.

He pledged to work with other commissioners to combat child poverty, insisting that "no child must be left behind". He also pledged to lead the work on a cyber action plan to protect young people from onlilne abuse.

He closed his speech with a reference to the Paris Olympics, positing sports as a tool for peace and to foster dialogue.

Not a grilling, a slow cooker

Glenn Micallef’s grilling was anything but a lively barbeque, resembling more a slow-cooker where the same questions in different formats were repeated on a loop.

Apart from a handful of tricky questions from far-right politicians, who persisted in asking about the influence of what they termed as LGBT ideology on policymaking, the grilling was non-eventful.

Micallef appeared anxious initially but quickly settled down, looking more confident as time passed and occasionally smiling as he engaged calmly with MEPs. As is customary for these hearings, Micallef had a set of well-studied replies, he kept emphasising.

Micallef’s lengthy pauses between words and sentences were a drag, but they also enabled him to communicate clearly with no ambiguity in language. But there was only so much MEPs could expect him to say given that his future work will greatly depend on pushing other commissioners to implement policies and plans.

Micallef’s lack of experience was not brought up directly by MEPs except for one question that asked whether he was satisfied with his portfolio since it did not include education and media.

“My portfolio gives me opportunity to work with all my colleges and I am thrilled with it,” Micallef replied curtly.

Greek MEP and former professional basketball player Nikos Pappas, who is 34 years old, commented positively on Micallef’s young age: “I am pleased to see a young person of my generation.” It was a nod from the politician coming from The Left group.

Micallef was asked about the protection of children while online, youth engagement, making culture accessible to all and the values that underpin the European sporting model.

Far-right MEPs tried to trip Micallef up with several questions on identity politics and the participation of trans athletes in elite sporting events.

“We have a moral and legal obligation to protect children. The European sport model is based on the values of inclusion, diversity and equality. Sports belongs to everyone.

In elite sporting competitions, the European sport model ensures autonomy that allows the sporting movements to decide how to govern their sports without external influence,” Micallef replied, insisting sports was for everyone.

It was the only occasion throughout the grilling when he received applause from the floor.

The commissioner-designate later added that he will make it clear to the sporting movement that the EU expects them to integrate more people from different backgrounds. “Sports is for everyone… our mission is to make it so,” Micallef said.

He emphasised that the autonomy of sporting movements had two conditions attached to it – they respect EU law and follow good governance principles.

He was also asked about Malta’s reluctance to sign the Macolin Convention against the manipulation of sports competitions. Malta has so far refused to get on board because of certain provisos that may harm the online betting industry.

Micallef skirted around the question. “I am here in my capacity as commissioner-designate for intergenerational fairness, youth, culture and sport and not to represent the interests of a country but of all EU citizens. When the occasion is right, I will work to put it back on the agenda but the final decision rests with the member states,” he replied diplomatically.

At one point, Micallef shifted to Maltese to reply to a question on multi-lingualism. He committed himself to push for investment to promote linguistic diversity in the forthcoming budget discussions. Micallef also defended freedom of artistic expression and said the European Commission is obliged to safeguard this value and use the legal instruments at its disposal to do so.

Questioned by a far-right MEP about EU funding cuts to Hungarian universities, Micallef insisted European values championed the rule of law and these were “non-negotiable”.

“It is amply clear that we will continue to invest in the rule of law. EU funds are conditional upon the respect to the rule of law and the funding cuts did not apply to all Hungarian universities,” Micallef responded.

Micallef said it was his priority to ensure more engagement with young people. “The last thing we need to hear are echo chambers… I want to take the EU to the people,” he reiterated.

Micallef has the task of coordinating the youth dialogues with all commissioners, promising MEPs that he wants to take these exercises to all regions.

Micallef closed off his three-hour exchange with MEPs by thanking them and calling it an exercise in democracy.

On Sunday, Opposition leader Bernard Grech said the Opposition will be supporting Micallef’s nomination, but criticised government for having Malta miss out on the Mediterranean portfolio.

Nationalist MEP David Casa was present for the grilling but did not ask any questions. He was seen applauding Micallef at the start and the end of the grilling.

READ ALSO: Glenn’s mission | Youth dialogue in first 100 days, an action plan on cyberbullying and sport diplomacy

Calendar for the hearings of Commissioners-designate

The hearings will take place from 4 to 12 November.

The European Parliament President and political group leaders adopted a detailed schedule of which Commissioner-designate will be heard by which committees and at which time slot.

Each hearing will be followed by a meeting in which the Chairs of the Committees and group representatives (coordinators) concerned will evaluate the performance of the Commissioner-designate they just heard.

After the completion of the evaluation process, the Conference of Committee Chairs will assess the outcome of all hearings and forward its recommendation to the Conference of Presidents. The latter will exchange views and decide whether to close the hearings in its meeting on 21 November; it will also decide to place the vote on the College as a whole on the plenary agenda.

The full Commission needs to be elected by a simple majority of the votes cast in plenary, by roll call. The vote is currently scheduled to take place during the (25-28) November session in Strasbourg.