Diplomatic Tensions Brew Over Missing Balance in EU Economic Policy Leadership

The Commission’s unspoken rule is that the composition of each policy area must be geographically balanced. Over the past five years, Valdis Dombrovskis, a fiscally conservative Vice-President from Latvia, helped balance out Italian Paolo Gentiloni’s leadership of the economy department. Dombrovskis is now eyeing a role focusing on Ukraine, while Margrethe Vestager, Denmark’s digital and competition czar, represented Northern Europe and often disagreed with Breton, who was in charge of the industrial portfolio. Vestager will be stepping down soon, leaving a gap in the EU for a fiscally liberal leader.

France and Italy have traditionally supported looser fiscal rules and more common borrowing due to their significant debt burdens. French President Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s Meloni have sometimes found themselves on the same side when it comes to economic policy, surprising many. However, diplomats from frugal EU countries are wary of another Italian or French leader in the economics department due to their spending plans being potentially harmful to the EU.

The absence of a figure like Vestager, who was popular among economically liberal EU countries, leaves a gap in the Commission that has yet to be filled. The need for a balance of fiscal policies within the EU remains crucial to maintain harmony among member states.