In an interview with DW, the Greek vice-president of the Commission Margaritis Schinas he makes a positive assessment of the five years, but he also speaks openly about the difficulties of working in Brussels. He is the first Greek vice-president of the European Commission in the history of the institution. We met Margaritis Schinas in Strasbourg at the end of April, at the last Plenary Session of the European Parliament before the European elections. A barrage of important legislation was in full swing in those days, such as the vote on the updated fiscal discipline rules within the framework of the Stability Pact. “It doesn’t impress me that in the last Plenary, pending issues are closed,” he says and maintains that the main objectives of the Commission “have been completed, they have become legislation. This becomes particularly important, because this five-year period was not predictable. We had historic, unprecedented crises. The bottom line is that we succeeded.”

But what is his personal account? In 2019, the appointment of Margaritis Schina as vice president with responsibility for the “Promotion of the European Way of Life” caused confusion. Some said they did not understand the meaning of the portfolio, others that it was actually an “immigration policy portfolio”. He feels vindicated today. “The great successes of Europe in these five years became visible and possible within my own field of competence, which I like to describe as ‘human-centered Europe’,” says Margaritis Schinas to Deutsche Welle. “Europe succeeded in successfully managing the pandemic, with the largest vaccination program in humanity, with the mobility certificate. In the ‘Europe of opportunities’ we tripled the resources for Erasmus, we built joint university alliances, we proposed a common European degree. The crowning achievement of ours was of course the recent adoption of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, a historic agreement after decades of failed attempts.

Compromises are necessary…

The truth is, of course, that the “last minute” compromise on immigration accepted the demand of the Eastern Europeans not to be subject to mechanisms for the mandatory distribution of immigrants in the “EU of 27”, so it took into account their interests to a large extent. Maybe to an excessive degree? “Look, our initial proposals and the final compromise were made around a zone, which I like to describe as a ‘runway’, that is, a point on which we could all agree,” says Margaritis Schinas. “We did not build the Parthenon, it is not a perfect building in all its aspects. But it is the first time that Europe agrees on the basic parameters of immigration.”

However, the “single capital market” also remains open pending. As with much European legislation, everyone agrees on the principle, but the more they focus on individual aspects, the more apparent the disagreements become. For example, few agree on the need to establish a single bankruptcy law across the EU.

“You rightly point out an issue which is a historical case of Europe trying but failing to exceed expectations,” the Commission vice-president tells Deutsche Welle. “We really need a capital union, because the financial possibilities in Europe cannot be exclusively in the hands of the banking system. And in the US and elsewhere, our competitors have managed to build a capital union, which has the banking dimension in it, but also has others. We didn’t make it. So we need to continue working in this field, to bend the resistance of member states who believe that national approaches to both bankruptcy law and capital management are better than common rules.”

The “difficult work” of the Commission

In the current context of the European system for the balancing of powers, the Commission occupies a peculiar role. It can propose new laws, but not implement them without the consent of national governments and the European Parliament. So what leeway does the Commission have when things get difficult?Is it simply postponing the issue?Or is it looking for an “alliance of the willing” to move forward?

“We intervene, as you rightly say, at the beginning and at the end of the legislative process, but not in the middle” says Margaritis Schinas. “It is shared between the two co-legislators, the Council and the European Parliament. There the Commission’s role is that of an honest broker. Precisely because we do not have the competence of decisions, we have the duty to push the two co-legislators to agreements, to make the coordinates of possible compromises. It’s a tough job, but it pays off every time it’s done right.”

A basic parameter of the work in Brussels is the constant contact with the MEPs. The vice-president of the Commission emphasizes that “this relationship is symbiotic. There is no way for a Commissioner to achieve his goals and objectives, if he does not find a functional working relationship with the MEPs and conversely, a MEP will never be completely successful if he does not have the Commission by his side in critical decisions”. He declares himself happy for his cooperation with the Greek MEPs “who never lost contact with the Greek Commissioner at critical moments”, as he points out.

But what about the perennial request of the European Parliament to share the “right of legislative initiative” (ie the right to propose a new law), which is currently the exclusive prerogative of the Commission?

“I believe that for the Commission to share the monopoly of the legislative initiative would not be completely compatible with the Treaties,” says Margaritis Schinas. “But I think we have taken steps in recent years so that we are committed as a Commission that every initiative of a resolution nature that comes from the European Parliament should receive an informed response and a promise from the Commission to look at it carefully. Either with the logic of approval, or with the logic of non-approval”.

What does the future bring?

By way of epilogue, a reasonable question for an experienced Greek from Brussels, as the first five years for Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission is coming to an end: Where will Margaritis Schoinas be in the next five years? “The answer to this question is at hand of the Greek Prime Minister” he says. “As you know, it is the governments that nominate the Commissioners. I think it is reasonable to say that the decisions are ahead of us. Or, in the most popular: Short psalm hallelujah…”.