Oettinger’s criticism of France causes unease for Commission

Commission spokesperson refuses to clarify if Juncker approved controversial article written by Oettinger.

Jean-Claude Juncker’s European Commission has been forced on to the defensive by an article by Günther Oettinger, the European commissioner for digital economy and society, about French economic reforms.

Margaritis Schinas, Juncker’s spokesman, was today asked if Juncker knew about the article, published in several European newspapers, including Les Echos and the Financial Times. Schinas said Juncker was “aware” of the article, but admitted that he did not know if Juncker had been told of its exact content before publication.

In the article, Oettinger, Germany’s member of the college of European commissioners, described France’s reforms as “too few and not sufficiently ambitious” and called France a “serial offender” on budget matters.

Michel Sapin, the French finance minister, described Oettinger’s intervention as “unhelpful”. The French Socialist Party went further, calling for Oettinger to resign.

The timing is unfortunate for the Commission, which was supposed to adopt its draft opinions on member states’ draft 2015 budgets on Monday (24 November). That has now been delayed until Tuesday (25 November). The opinions on the budget are the responsibility of Pierre Moscovici, the European commissioner for economic and financial affairs, and France’s member of the European Commission. Moscovici is a former French finance minister and a member of the Socialist Party. Oettinger is a member of the Christian Democratic Union of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Schinas insisted that the remarks would not prejudice the Commission’s discussion of France’s budget.

“Commissioners are politicians and there is no rule that they should only express a view on their [Commission portfolio],” Schinas told reporters. “You must recall that it is the college as a college…that decides on the specific issues.”