The controversial appointment of German CDU MEP Markus Pieper as the new EU envoy for small and medium-sized enterprises has raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Pieper got the job even though he was not the top candidate recommended by independent selection committees or Commissioner Thierry Breton. The SME Envoy will work with Breton and the Directorate-General for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW).
According to various sources, Dlabajová of the Czech Republic and Anna Stellinger of Sweden scored at least 30% higher than Pieper in the assessments, highlighting concerns about Pieper’s appointment.
In addition to the issue of qualifications, the other two leading candidates are women from under-represented countries, which is at odds with von der Leyen’s pledge to promote women in top positions and geographical balance in the EU institutions.
The constant need for observation and corrective corrections in politics and political institutions is exhausting.
The need and cause are very foreign to me. I work problem-solution-oriented and person-neutral-collaborative in software development. Which is a personality and environment/systematic setup thing. And which of course sadly only works in smaller teams and groups and projects; not at the scale of EU politics.
The tasks, obligations, and responsibilities of elected politicians are clear. But that alone is not enough. Which is kind of tragic.