Glenn Micallef’s nomination as EU Commissioner for Youth, Sport and Culture is a sign that Malta is continuing to lose clout at the EU’s top table, Brussels insiders fear.

But while some see the brief handed to Micallef as a sign of “total humiliation”, others say it is an improvement over outgoing Commissioner Helena Dalli’s equality “non-portfolio”.

Micallef will be expected to coordinate and shape European Commission efforts to involve youth in EU decision-making, lead work on an EU-wide cyberbullying plan and contribute to an EU investigation into social media’s broader social impact.

Among other things, he has been asked to focus on improving the working conditions of artists and cultural professionals, to find ways of making it easier for young people to visit cultural sites and to engage on a global level to promote EU-based sporting events.

Aged 35, he is the youngest commissioner-designate on Ursula von der Leyen’s teamsheet and among the least experienced when it comes to frontline politics.

I suspect the Maltese government doesn’t understand how insulting Micallef’s nomination was. It was a real ‘up yours’ to the Commission. And we will pay a bitter price for it- Former top official

Times of Malta spoke to six current and former EU officials about Micallef’s brief, unveiled by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week. All were granted anonymity to allow them to speak freely.

None had a bad thing to say about Micallef or his competence. Many, however, had strong opinions about the way in which Malta is perceived at EU level.

Malta’s waning power

“This is a pure punishment and humiliation, we got the worst portfolio of all,” a European Commission official told Times of Malta. 

“Malta used to get mid-level portfolios. Now we’ve received two zero portfolios in a row.”

Another Commission official saw the glass as half-full.

“It’s certainly more colourful than the previous non-portfolio,” the official confided, referring to the Equality portfolio that Malta’s outgoing commissioner Helena Dalli handled. 

Both those officials – as well as others working within the EU’s complex maze of institutions, bodies and agencies – fear Malta’s EU-level power is on the decline.

“Malta was asked again and again and again to reconsider its candidate,” a Commission official reflected. “We refused to do so, and so we have been banished.

“It means we can exert no influence over legislative and policy design for the next five years, in the one place we hold 1/27th of the [EU] vote.”

An EU insider with years of Brussels experience also said it seemed like Malta was moving down the pecking order.

“It feels a bit like Malta has been put at the very back after our reputation became tainted. Maybe Malta’s government doesn’t care about the EU,” he reflected.

Political horse-trading

The value of a strong Commission portfolio lies in the proxy political power it grants member states, allowing them to horse-trade favours and push for their nationals to be placed in key, influential positions within other commissioners’ cabinets.

Within Brussels circles, a Commissioner’s hard power is gauged by two key metrics: the amount of control he or she has over the Commission’s complex bureaucracy, and the extent to which a portfolio includes sectors subject to EU law and with a budgetary programme. 

When measured by those two yardsticks, Micallef’s portfolio is effectively a weak one, EU insiders concurred.

No part of his portfolio comes with legislation-making power, and if approved by MEPs, Micallef will report to Romania’s Commission nominee, executive vice-president Roxana Mînzatu, with only partial control of one of the Commission’s primary policy-making bodies, Directorate Generals (DGs).

Malta’s first four EU commissioners – Joe Borg, John Dalli, Tonio Borg and Karmenu Vella – all had full DGs under their control.

Von der Leyen gave him something that’s up his street. She didn’t want him to get killed in [the European] parliament. It might be uncomfortable for MEPs to kick out a young person just because he’s young and inexperienced- Official who works in the Commission

And while Micallef will have a decent budget for EU sports and culture programmes, it is nowhere near the mega-billions some other commissioners can count on.

“A weak portfolio makes you almost negligible at the commissioner’s table,” a Commission official explained.

“Micallef’s portfolio seems fitting for his stature, but there’s no denying it’s a weak one, in terms of Commission politics. Now a lot will depend on how effective his team will be at getting Maltese officials placed within other commissioners’ cabinets.”

In the eyes of a former Commissioner’s head of cabinet, no amount of negotiation is going to make up for the handicap that Malta is starting off with. The next five years will be bleak, the former official predicts.

“Malta will suffer a loss of influence [within Brussels]. Anything Malta does will be stonewalled. Any time Malta asks for comprehension from the Commission, it won’t get it.”

“I suspect the Maltese government doesn’t understand how insulting Micallef’s nomination was,” the former top official said. “It was a real ‘up yours’ to the Commission. And we will pay a bitter price for it.”

The insult had nothing to do with Micallef’s technical competence, the former official stressed.

“His profile just does not match the role, and at this level, profile is everything.”

Micallef’s low political profile – he has never had a public-facing role, having previously served as the prime minister’s chief of staff – was cited by many of those interviewed.

“You don’t send a person with zero days in politics to do one of the most political jobs on the continent,” an experienced Commission official said. 

“Nobody is doubting Micallef’s competence as a civil servant. The problem is he has no political experience, no political clout, and no relationships with politicians as peers.”

A Maltese diplomat was more sanguine about Micallef’s prospects.

“A high profile will carry you for the first few weeks, but if you’re not up to it you will collapse like a house of cards,” he said. “Everyone who meets him emerges pleasantly surprised. He is extremely competent and knows EU procedures inside-out, unlike political old hands,” the diplomat argued.

The diplomat acknowledged that von der Leyen wanted Malta to nominate a female candidate, but insisted the country was not the only small member state to hold firm.

“Cyprus, Luxembourg and Czechia all resisted pressure to swap nominees for women,” the diplomat noted.

The EU insider who spoke to Times of Malta landed somewhere in between those two perspectives.

“Micallef is a big unknown in Brussels,” the insider said. “I was surprised by his nomination. That said, if he performs well, he might get a second term, and by then he’ll be a familiar name in Brussels and in line for a meatier portfolio.”

A bigger chunk of the pie

There was one positive almost all observers agreed on: Micallef looks set to control a bigger chunk of the Commission’s political machinery than his predecessor.

Helena Dalli’s equality portfolio gave her control of one directorate, which are subdivisions of directorates-general (DGs), and one unit, the smallest offices within the Commission system.

Micallef’s portfolio gives him influence over most of DG-EAC, the directorate-general focused on education, arts and culture.

“It’s streets ahead of Dalli’s role,” a Maltese diplomat said.

A former Commission official agreed, saying Dalli was “completely invisible, both in Brussels and Malta”.

“This is definitely an upgrade over the Equality portfolio,” he said. “Now for Micallef to have an impact, it’s important that his head of cabinet or deputy is an established Commission official with extensive procedural experience.”

An MEP hurdle

That’s assuming Micallef even makes it to his first day in office: Malta’s nominee could be a target when MEPs grill commissioner-designates. Political journalism organisation Politico cited Malta’s nominee as one of five commissioner-designates “most likely to get the chop”.

A former Commission official who spoke to Times of Malta was even more downbeat about Micallef’s prospects.

“I’m convinced MEPs will kill his nomination. They’ll want a scalp or two, and this will be an easy one,” he said.

He was in a minority. Others had a more positive view.

“Had von der Leyen given him a big portfolio he would have almost certainly been toppled by MEPs. As it is, perhaps they will close an eye: their focus will be on the big portfolios,” an EU insider noted.

Another official, who works in the Commission, saw things in a similar light.

“Von der Leyen gave him something that’s up his street. She didn’t want him to get killed in parliament. It might be uncomfortable for MEPs to kick out a young person just because he’s young and inexperienced.”

And if Micallef doesn’t make it past the MEP hurdle, Malta could have a natural replacement lined up.

“It’s no secret Owen Bonnici would be keen on the job,” a diplomat argued. “He has a decade of ministerial experience and has been culture minister for years. MEPs would find it hard to overlook that.”