Q&A: ‘I don’t sense a general far-right surge’ - top EU official

The just-concluded vote in the European Union’s 27-member states to elect new members (MEPs) for the union’s parliament has shaken countries like France, where Marine Le Pen’s far-right party doubled President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party.

Prior to the election, many European observers had warned that a far-right continental surge with anti-migrant and anti-enlargement agendas might shake the foundations of the EU in the upcoming years.

While the far-right came first in France, Belgium, Italy, Austria and Hungary, Margaritis Schinas, the European Commission’s Vice President and one of the top positions ruling the union, does not agree with the assessment that far-right groups made big gains.

Speaking to TRT World, Schinas, the former spokesman of the Commission, who is responsible for implementing some critical items of the EU’s agenda—from migration to internal security and interchange between different religious communities—believes that far-right alliances can not change the bloc’s course.

TRT World: How do you assess the EU elections? Do you agree that far-right groups made big gains?

Margaritis Schinas: First of all, I must tell you that I do not share these assessments that there was a surge of the far-right in Europe. This is an oversimplification of more complex results. If you look closer, you will see that there is no such thing as an extreme right landslide or surge in Europe. In the Netherlands, they did not win. In Hungary, they lost considerable ground. In Germany, they were expected to be at 25 percent, but they are at 16 percent. So, except for France, I don't sense a general far-right surge.

Secondly, it is vitally important that in the new European Parliament, the majority of the centre-right and the centre-left are still holding. The European People’s Party [a centre-right bloc], Socialists & Democrats [a centre-left alliance] and Liberals [centrists represented by Renew Europe bloc] are well beyond 400 seats [out of a total of 720 seats]. As a result, my conclusion regarding the election result is that there are many more forces that want to push Europe forward rather than destroy it, stop it, or block it.

Then, do you assess the results in a positive light?

MS: Well, let's say that I assess it in a less dramatic sense than many. I have learned that there is nothing to fear from European democracy. This is how democracy works. You have a result. You have a political majority in the European Parliament, and you have to work with this majority. So, I do not share this rather simplistic assessment that this result meant the end of Europe or the stagnation of Europe. I see that there is a dynamic that builds on the important achievements that we accomplished in the last five years to advance even further with the European Union.

But far-right parties came first in France, Belgium, Hungary and Austria. They are part of ruling coalitions in Italy and Finland, possibly in the Netherlands. And like France, where Macron called a risky snap election after Le Pen’s landslide, Belgium's prime minister also resigned following the far-right party’s surge. How do you interpret all these developments?

MS: I hope you noticed my first reply to your first question when I said that although there is an increase in these forces, this increase under no circumstances can block Europe because there is a very clear, very strong majority of the forces of centre-right and centre-left. So it’s not a paradox that we have a more kaleidoscopic parliament with increased numbers of certain political forces from the extreme right. But under no circumstances will these results prevent the moderate majority of the European Parliament from working for Europe instead of blocking Europe. There is no blocking minority in the European Parliament, and despite this increase, there is no way to undermine the European project.

But some experts argue that Brexit, which happened in 2016, has hovered over the EU for some time. In France, with Le Pen’s win, some speculate that the time has arrived for Frexit. Other far-right groups also want to imagine a Brexit-like moment for their own countries. They don’t like the EU's supranational character because of their nationalist stances. Do you think Frexit is possible?

MS: I follow French politics very closely, and for many years, I have never heard or seen anyone proposing Frexit, not even Le Pen, nobody. I don't know where this Frexit comes from.

But Le Pen tweeted after Brexit that France should do the same thing by holding a referendum on the EU as the British did.

MS: [That was] in the previous election. In the current election, they have abandoned all illusions and all arguments against the euro and the European Union. So, they are now part of the mainstream [regarding these issues]. So there is no question about any possible Frexit. There is no appetite. There is no public opinion supporting this, and given the failure and the negative impact of Brexit on the United Kingdom, I don't see that many others would like to imitate such a failure.

Your job responsibilities include coordinating the commission's work on developing a European Security Union, which sounded like a precursor of a possible European army, something Macron has long argued. Can you talk about this? Is this about forming a European army?

MS: My responsibility in the current commission on Coordinating the Security Union was about internal security, what the Americans call homeland, which means fighting against terrorism, organised crime, cyber security and drug trafficking. I was not part of the external security and defence. This responsibility lies with my colleague Joseph Borrell, not with me. But since you asked me, I think that one of the main deliverables for the next political cycle that is opening now will certainly be – given the two wars in the vicinity of the European Union – the emergence of some sort of a common European defence identity. This has not been done so far. But I'm hopeful that in the next political cycle, there will be more coordination in defence and security policy from the European Union.

As far as I understand, your responsibility is related to tasks like what the FBI does in the US.

MS: Yes

Do you have an entity like the FBI in the EU?

MS: No, we do not have an entity like the FBI. Actually, we are coordinating with our national intelligence offices. We have community legislation on critical parts of security, but we do not have a common Federal Bureau of Investigation. But we do have two law enforcement agencies, which are European, and they deliver well. The first is Europol, which is on police cooperation and is based in the Hague. The other one is Frontex, which is about border management and is based in Warsaw. But we do not have a European FBI.

Would you like to imagine such a European FBI in the future?

MS: No, I don't think that this is strictly necessary. If we get all the rest right, that means aligning our legislation as we are doing it now, trying to improve cooperation with our national intelligence and crime agencies, and, of course, continuing to deepen and improve the work of Europol and Frontex, I think this is the best recipe for the European Union.

Your job responsibilities also include overseeing this new European pact on migration and asylum-seeking. Going back to again this far-right argument in the wake of what they achieved in the EU elections, how will their anti-migrant opposition affect the pact’s implementation process?

MS: We are very proud to have enacted the migration pact in this commission term. And as you rightly say, the challenge for the next commission would be to ensure it's properly implemented. So, the fact that not only the extreme right but also the extreme left are against the pact means that we are moving in the right direction. The extreme right thinks the pact is too permissive, and the extreme left thinks that the pact is too strict. So this means that we have gotten it right. We have a tight mixture of solidarity between member states but also responsibility in managing borders and good relations with countries of origin and transit. So I'm confident that with this historic success of providing a regulatory framework for migration in Europe after decades of trials, efforts and failures, we are very close now to having a genuine European migration policy.

But don’t you think this framework will have obstacles built by the far-right, which wants to prevent it?

MS: I'm confident that the implementation will work smoothly. What I am telling you is that the pact is part of EU legislation. It is EU law. It's not like a menu in a restaurant where you can choose what you like and don't order. This is part of European Union legislation, and this is what makes me proud.

How about Trump? He threatens to leave NATO, leaving European allies at the mercy of Russia. What is your opinion on that?

MS: I do not like to comment on this. This is not my job. I prefer to position myself on facts, and I would not now enter into any sort of comments like four or five months before the American elections. First, the American people should vote, and then we will see. What I can tell you is that Europe will always be committed to transatlantic dialogue, cooperation and NATO.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is running for a second term, and some experts argue that she might form a working relationship with far-right groups to get enough votes. What do you think about that?

MS: We have a solid majority of the centre-right and the centre-left parties that would allow Europe to go ahead, including, of course, the election of the President of the European Commission. This majority of the EPP, the Socialists and the Liberals is there, and some even call it the Ursula Majority.

How about you? Will you have another term?

MS: My future does not depend on me. It depends on the Greek Prime Minister. So he will have to decide who will be the next commissioner. If he thinks that I've done a great job. I'm very happy to stay on.