Hearings of Commissioners-designate just the start of European Parliament oversight of the Commission

Starting today, the European Parliament is holding a series of public hearings with the 26 candidate Commissioners put forward by the Council and Commission President José-Manuel Barroso, including Malta's John Dalli who is set to appear in front of EP Committees on Thursday 18th January.

"The grilling of the Commissioners-designate may be the most media-friendly example of European Parliament oversight of the work of the Commission, but it is just the beginning," said Julian Vassallo, Head of the European Parliament Office in Malta.
"Throughout the five year legislature, elected MEPs keep the Commission answerable for its actions and expenditure not least through the newly introduced Commission President's question-time and the extension of the EP's powers into new policy areas through the Lisbon Treaty. The EP's power to fire the Commission at any time ensures that its powers of accountability are taken seriously," Dr Vassallo said.
The European Parliament is making an extra effort to help European citizens follow the hearings by providing full live coverage of all the public hearings through Europe by Satellite and though webstreaming both on on EP Live and on EuroparlTV.
The EP Office in Malta is sending eight journalists from across the local media spectrum including television, press, radio and web to follow the hearings from Brussels to ensure that Maltese citizens may see how MEPs exercise oversight in their name.
Each Commissioner-designate faces three hours of questioning by MEPs - including the five Maltese Members - sitting on the committees relevant to their proposed portfolios. They will be evaluated on their specific knowledge and competence in their field, including their European commitment, their independence and their communication skills.
Parliament is expected to take a final vote on Mr Barroso's new team on 26th January at a special plenary session in Brussels.

Full details on hearings website

Parliament has set up a website with full details of the procedures involved, the timetable for the different
hearings and for subsequent steps in the procedure:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/hearings

This site includes all the official documents relating to the hearings as they become available, including the answers to written questionnaires prepared by MEPs. All press releases relating to the hearings will also appear on this site.

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