Times change in Brussels, but Maroš Šefčovič is forever

Brussels has changed a lot over the past 15 years but there’s been one constant — Maroš Šefčovič.

The Slovak politician joined the European Commission in October 2009, when he was appointed to replace Ján Figeľ as education commissioner under José Manuel Durão Barroso (Figeľ had returned to domestic politics).

Just four months later, after Barroso secured a second term as Commission president, Šefčovič was made vice president in charge of inter-institutional relations — the same portfolio he holds today.

Šefčovič has now served under three Commission presidents (Barroso, Jean-Claude Juncker and Ursula von der Leyen). Plus, the EU has gone through two major financial crises, Brexit, a pandemic, and the start of a war on its border. And yet Šefčovič has endured: A safe pair of hands occasionally seconded to look after portfolios in need of a competent, temporary caretaker.

He’s been called upon to oversee the EU’s response to extraordinary challenges like Brexit and tapped to help out on issues linked to energy, health and consumer policy. Most recently, he was put in charge of the European Green Deal, one of the outgoing Commission’s flagship initiatives, following Frans Timmermans’ decision to stand in last year’s Dutch election.

That consistency is now likely to make Šefčovič an unusual record-holder. He is the third longest-serving European commissioner (over 5,400 days in office as of early August) and is virtually guaranteed to move into second place ahead of Dutch social democrat Sicco Mansholt (who served for 5,475 days and was also Commission president).

Because Slovakia has decided to reappoint him for an unprecedented fifth time, Šefčovič is well-positioned to take the top spot and displace Wilhelm Haferkamp (6,397 days), a German social democrat who was a commissioner for 18 years between 1967 and 1985. Mark your calendars: It should happen on April 8, 2027.

Mr. Fix-it

Šefčovič’s endurance in Brussels is remarkable given the comparatively brief tenure of most commissioners. Since 2000, commissioners have served for just over five years on average.

His nationality also helps make him unique: Few of the 10 Central and Eastern European countries that joined in 2004 have emulated Slovakia in renominating commissioners with such enthusiasm.

For a time, Šefčovič was shadowed by Austria’s Johannes Hahn, currently in charge of the EU’s budget, who joined the Commission in February 2010 and is currently the bloc’s fifth-longest serving commissioner.

Alas for Hahn, Vienna has nominated Finance Minister Magnus Brunner as its candidate for the next term.

College boys

Is politics still a man’s world? Historically in the European Commission, the answer has been a resounding yes.

Maroš Šefčovič’s endurance in Brussels is remarkable given the comparatively brief tenure of most commissioners. | Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images

There is an evident lack of gender diversity when one ranks commissioners according to years served. Only Luxembourg’s Viviane Reding, who served from 1999 to 2014, makes the top 10, securing 4th place.

It’s not surprising, considering there were no female commissioners at all until 1989. Since its creation in 1958, 209 people from 28 countries have served in the College of Commissioners. Only 46 of them have been women.

Current Commission President von der Leyen’s first College was the most gender-balanced ever, and she has promised the same level of equity and representation in the upcoming term.

To that end, last month von der Leyen wrote to EU leaders asking that they propose two names — one man, one woman — for her next team. But governments haven’t been forthcoming: So far, none has openly submitted two candidates for the post, and of the 18 countries that have revealed their selection, only four have nominated a woman. That number rises to six when you add in von der Leyen herself as Germany’s representative plus Estonia’s Kaja Kallas, who was picked as the next EU foreign policy chief.

Von der Leyen could still overcome this hurdle: The final composition of the College in 2019 — 12 women and 15 men — was the result of haggling and backdoor talks with national governments. It is likely similar negotiations will take place this time around.

Then again, despite significant strides in gender equality in the European institutions and beyond, it will be a very long time before a woman gets anywhere near Šefčovič’s record.