Mr. Fix It gets his toughest mission yet: EU trade boss 

BRUSSELS — Maroš Šefčovič has earned a reputation as Ursula von der Leyen’s go-to troubleshooter — and his next task will put that to the test.

Šefčovič, a Slovak politician who joined the European Commission in 2009, was appointed by von der Leyen as a surprise pick to lead both trade and economic security in the next EU executive.

A steady pair of hands, he has been called on to manage the European Union’s response to daunting challenges like Brexit. More recently, he was put in charge of the European Green Deal, the flagship initiative of von der Leyen’s first term, after Frans Timmermans quit to run in last year’s Dutch election.

As the longest-serving current commissioner, Šefčovič will steer an economic agenda to transform the EU and its market of 450 million people from a once-open market into more of an economic fortress. And he will have to ensure that the EU finds ways to stand up against its geopolitical rivals, and protect its technology and research. 

At the same time, he’ll need to navigate tensions with the United States — including a potential return by Donald Trump to the White House — and likely retaliation by Beijing against the EU’s looming imposition of duties on Chinese electric vehicles.

But first, Šefčovič will have to handle a boss with strong opinions on the portfolio: He will report to France’s outgoing Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné, who was nominated by President Emmanuel Macron at the eleventh hour and will, as executive vice president, have a sweeping industrial remit.

“This is unheard of, as far as I know, and will not necessarily cause [EU] trade administrators ... to jump with joy,” said David Kleimann, a senior trade expert at the ODI think tank. “Trade as a function of French-designed industrial policy would have been unthinkable for many in Brussels in previous decades.” 

Giving France — one of the EU’s most protectionist countries — responsibility over trade is a gamble for von der Leyen, and will apply political brakes to the pursuit of free-trade deals. After all, President Emmanuel Macron has fought a solitary, but highly effective, rearguard action against a trade deal with the South American Mercosur bloc that — after decades in the works — is back on the front burner. 

“Šefčovič will have to counterbalance some of Séjourné’s more French tendencies on the economy,” said one EU diplomat, who was granted anonymity to comment on the evolving power dynamics. 

“Šefčovič will be his watchdog,” the diplomat added. 

A trusted ally of von der Leyen, the 58-year-old Slovak has the political leverage and gravitas that Séjourné, a relatively inexperienced pick, might lack in the Commission’s power dynamics. 

Faced with such a heavyweight, “Stéphane Séjourné will have to find the right balance between fulfilling his [executive vice president] mandate without turning it into a power struggle between industrial and trade policies,” said Elvire Fabry, a senior researcher on trade and economic security at the Jacques Delors Institute in Paris.

Marching orders

More generally, EU trade policy will take a U.S.-flavored approach, with security concerns trumping economic calculus. In her marching orders to Šefčovič, von der Leyen writes that he should defend the EU’s technological leadership and “resist economic coercion.” 

“It is essential that a security-oriented approach should be embedded within our work,” von der Leyen writes in the mission letter to her commissioner-designate. 

As one EU official concludes: “His pragmatism will be needed with coordinating economic security.” 

Linking both trade and economic security in one portfolio has raised concerns among trade observers, who worry that the EU will focus excessively on protecting its core technologies, and not enough on promoting its export champions and partnering with third countries.

“This might mean less outward-looking openness, and more protectionist policies,” said David Henig, director of U.K. trade policy at the ECIPE think tank. 

And just like his taciturn predecessor Valdis Dombrovskis, Šefčovič will also have to devote attention to another task: his long-standing role overseeing relations between the EU institutions, in which he reports directly to von der Leyen. 

Just next week, on Sept. 28, Šefčovič will become the second longest-serving European commissioner in history, overtaking Dutchman Sicco Mansholt who served for 5,475 days. 

He’ll need all the experience he has accumulated over the last 15 years to complete his mission.

Barbara Moens and Giovanna Coi contributed reporting.