The former spokesman of European Commission Presidency, Margaritis Schinas, has been nominated as Vice President in the ‘cabinet’ of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Schinas will have the Portfolio “Protecting our European Way of Life.”
The portfolio with the weird and mysterious name covers migration, security, employment and education.
Thrilled to be nominated as VP for Protecting our Way of Life covering #migration, #security, #employment, #education. Ready to get down to work & looking forward to discussing with @Europarl_EN about how we can translate our political priorities into real results for Europeans. pic.twitter.com/H4ZMrS2Gz7
— Margaritis Schinas (@MargSchinas) September 10, 2019
Conservative Margaritis Schinas is the first Greek Vice president in the European Commission.
Many were puzzled about the portfolios name and asked for an explanation, while other saw some “dystopian euro-conservative nightmare.”
So Greece's Margaritis Schinas gets the portfolio for "Protecting European Way of Life"- a portfolio that includes migration
Ummm. Was there no other portfolio title available? https://t.co/CR2iUXs3V9
— Joumanna Bercetche (@CNBCJou) September 10, 2019
Please European Commission @EU_Commission, define “our European way of life” in terms of migration, security and education.
— Thomais Papaioannou (@ThomaisERT_RIK) September 10, 2019
Completely shocked to read that we have a #Commissioner to protect a "European Way of Life". Is this some kind of dystopian euro-conservative nightmare?
For once I do not get to apologize as an Italian, but as a European towards the rest of the world: we can be better than this https://t.co/YgeiLNfpKa
— Andrea Venzon (@Venzon_Andrea) September 10, 2019
Completely shocked to read that we have a #Commissioner to protect a "European Way of Life". Is this some kind of dystopian euro-conservative nightmare?
For once I do not get to apologize as an Italian, but as a European towards the rest of the world: we can be better than this https://t.co/YgeiLNfpKa
— Andrea Venzon (@Venzon_Andrea) September 10, 2019
The more I think about the fact there is a Commissioner to "Protect our way of life", the crazier I think it is. This type of sentence only appears in bad movies where the vilain says that…#vdLcommission #vonderLeyen pic.twitter.com/JaHvSWGuXx
— Colombe Cahen-Salvador (@ColombeCS) September 10, 2019
President von der Leyen tried to explained what the vague “Protecting our European Way of Life” could mean. In her letter to Schinas, she wrote among others:
Protecting our European way of life requires making sure workers are equipped to thrive in our evolving labour market. A declining workforce and a digital and basic skills gap brings into sharp focus the need to equip people with the tools and knowledge they need.
It also highlights the need for well-managed legal migration, a strong focus on integration and ensuring our communities are cohesive and close-knit. This is both an opportunity and a necessity for Europe.
The European way of life is built around solidarity, peace of mind and security.
We must address and allay legitimate fears and concerns about the impact of irregular migration on our economy and society. This will require us to work together to find common solutions which are grounded in our values and our responsibilities. We must also work more closely together on security, notably on new and emerging threats that cut across borders and policies. You will chair the Commissioners’ Group on Protecting our European Way of Life.
Von der Leyen’s cabinet is here.
PS I still got no clue what is “our European Way of Life” in Leyen’s and Schinas’ sense. Certainly something very bureaucratic only Brussels technocrats who invented it can understand….
It means .
This is ynonymous with ….