Von der Leyen bows to pressure as Pieper drops SME envoy job

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the position of SME Envoy would be filled after the EU elections after German politician Markus Pieper resigned the night before his first day.

Pieper, a controversial pick for the role with von der Leyen being accused of favouritism for appointing him, resigned on Monday (15 April) just hours before he was supposed to formally start in the new role.

In response to the news, von der Leyen announced in a statement she “has decided to suspend the reopening of the selection procedures for the position of SME Envoy until after the European elections.”

In the same line as in previous statements, von der Leyen stood her ground.

“Markus Pieper is a proven expert on SMEs and has prevailed in a multi-stage selection process. The autonomy of each EU institution in appointing its senior officials must be respected,” the statement continues.

Pieper told German newspaper Handelsblatt that considering “the way [Internal Market Commissioner Thierry] Breton is boycotting my appointment within the Commission in advance, I currently see no possibility of fulfilling the legitimate expectations associated with the office”.

The appointment has been under fire from critics in the last weeks, with the European Parliament asking the Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to rescind Pieper’s appointment and four senior members of her own College asking for a discussion on the matter (Liberal Thierry Breton, and Socialists Josep Borrell, Paolo Gentiloni, Nicolas Schmit).

Von der Leyen is accused of having played favourites for party connections in appointing Pieper, a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from the same political family in her home country, Germany (centre-right CDU/CSU), for a well-paid high-level job in the institution she presides over.

Breton, the internal market commissioner in charge of the appointment, was absent when von der Leyen appointed a candidate different from his original pick, Czechia’s liberal MEP Martina Dlabajova, who outperformed Pieper.

Dlabajová has sent a letter of appeal to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Personnel and Security in early March.

In the appeal, seen by Euractiv Czechia, she asked whether the Commission appointed the EU SME envoy based on a merit assessment, such as the results of tests and interviews and the resulting ranking, and whether equal opportunities policies were considered.

The status of the complaint is currently not known.

[Edited by Max Griera/ Alice Taylor]

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