Fate of Swedish environment commissioner candidate in doubt after lacklustre parliamentary hearing

Danish social democrat Dan Jørgensen is on his way to being energy and (an EU first) housing commissioner, but the fate of Swedish conservative Jessika Roswall hangs in the balance after political groups postponed a decision after a lacklustre performance in her confirmatory hearing as environment commissioner designate on Tuesday evening.

Jørgensen breezed through his three-hour hearing, batting away questions about his known aversion to nuclear power and promising higher renewable energy targets.

“Nuclear is and will continue to be an integrated part of the European energy mix. And yes, it is a part of the solution to decarbonise the European energy system,” Jørgensen said in opening remarks. Liberal MEP Christophe Grudler (France/Renew) pressed him on whether there would be EU financial support for conventional nuclear power. “No, I will not be able to promise that, as you of course well know,” Jørgensen said.

On small modular reactors, touted as a quick to deploy and localised source of clean power, he said he would follow his mission letter from Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and support the goal of first deployment in the 2030s. “Whether or not that is feasible, it is probably too early to say, but that is the ambition,” he said. He also warned of the risk of dependence on Russia for nuclear fuels.

Power and independence

Jørgensen promised an electrification action plan and a strategy to accelerate Europe’s break with Russian energy supplies, notably a remaining 18% of gas imports – both with his first 100 days in office. “I cannot commit, unfortunately, to your ask on whether or not we can be independent of Russian fuels next year,” he told the Green MEP Michael Bloss, who wanted to bring the current end-2027 deadline forward by two years. “I wish I could,” Jørgensen told him.

He also pledged to work on reducing energy prices, stressing the role renewables can play, and with housing also part of the new commissioner portfolio, promised a “first of its kind European affordable housing plan” backed by the European Investment Bank.

Following the hearing, Jørgensen was approved by the EPP, S&D, right-wing ECR and liberal Renew groups, and part of the small Left group, which was split – comfortably mustering the necessary two-thirds majority without the sizeable nationalist and far-right contingents.

No U-turn on the Green Deal

Roswall opened her three-hour hearing, which ran until almost 10 o’clock at night, by asserting her commitment to implement the key environmental legislation adopted under von der Leyen’s first presidency, notably the disputed Nature Restoration Law (NRL) and an anti-deforestation regulation (EUDR).

The centre-right EPP family from which the former Swedish EU affairs minister hails narrowly failed to block the NRL and more recently succeeded in pushing for a one-year delay in implementing the EUDR, so this represents something of a new direction for the Swedish former minister.

“I’ll build on all the good legislation we’ve built together in the last mandate to really get results,” Roswall told MEPs. “We have to stay the course when it comes to the green deal.”

“I am fully committed to implementation and doing my work when it comes to enforcement of the legislation,” she told a visibly sceptical former environment committee chair Pascal Canfin (France/Renew).

PFAS ban…at some point

On another high profile environmental issue, a proposed restriction on the ‘forever chemicals’ PFAS, Roswall said she was committed to banning them entirely from consumer goods, but was vague on the timing when pressed. “The exact time frame for this is difficult to say, but I will get this process started as soon as possible,” she said.

An overdue proposal to revise the REACH Regulation, the EU’s overarching chemicals law, would be tabled in 2025, she said

Roswall also stressed her commitment to furthering the EU’s circular economy goals and developing a water resilience strategy in face of intensifying climate disturbance, both parts of the new portfolio created by von der Leyen.

But in a less assured performance than that of the energy commissioner, she often gave boilerplate responses and referred repeatedly to “well designed nature credits” as a means to make conservation pay for itslef, echoing the idea of a market-based approach to ecosystem protection and restoration recently floated by von der Leyen.

Verdict postponed

Despite Roswall’s having urged MEPs to trust her when she said she would cast off national and political allegiances if appointed commissioner, she clearly succeeded in convincing her own political family of her suitability for the post.

“I think it’s very important to have an EPP environment commissioner,” the groups environment policy coordinator Peter Liese said after the hearing, saying she would “change the spirit in the Commission”.

“She will work with the farmers, with the industry, unlike the former environment commissioner and, in particular the vice-president Timmermans,” he said referring to Virginijus Sinkevičius, now a Green MEP for Lithuania, and the Dutch former director of the Green Deal.

By contrast, Green MEP Jutta Paulus turned to social media to complain she had received “no concrete answer” after asking Roswall to clarify her plans to implement the UN Global Biodiversity Framework signed in 2022 and the Nature Restoration law.

The Left was even less impressed. “Incredibly bad,” was the verdict of compatriot Jonas Sjöstedt of the socialist Vänsterpartiet. “We demand that the Swedish government send a new candidate.”

In the end, only the EPP and the ECR group somewhat to its right expressed a willingness to vote her through in a closed meeting following the hearing. A decision on parliament’s next move was postponed until 2.30pm on Wednesday (6 November). Roswell could either be approved, or asked to answer further questions in writing.

Or she could be rejected outright, which would force the Swedish government to put up another candidate – and, by delaying a final European Parliament vote on the new Commission as a whole, could dash any hopes of installing a new EU executive in December.