Likely future EU commissioner, Teresa Ribera, currently Spain’s environment minister, has refused to commit to stepping down if she is charged with misconduct in public office.
Ribera, a Socialist, is facing both heavy criticism at home and lawsuits for her response to catastrophic flooding on October 29 that left more than 200 people dead and destroyed towns near Valencia. Her ministry oversees the agencies responsible for flood management, monitoring river and weather conditions, and alerting other government authorities that send out public alerts. Warnings of flooding reached the general public only when, in many areas, the water had already inundated roads and other infrastructure. In 2021, as minister, she also denied approval for a long-planned project for flood mitigation in the ravines where the worst flooding occurred.
Appearing before Spain’s Congress on Wednesday, she denied any responsibility for the results of the disaster, placing the blame for the tardy public warning on regional authorities. She also denied that flood mitigation works would have made a significant difference. However, the record of communications from various agencies contradicts the timeline she presented to Congress. The agencies have also stated that at no point on the night of October 29 did their representatives leave an emergency planning videoconference, as Ribera also claimed.
During her response to Ribera, MP Ester Muñoz of the centre-right opposition Partido Popular asked Ribera if she would step down from office if charges were formally brought against her. Ribera did not pledge to do so.
In Brussels, the European People’s Party (EPP) had tried to make Ribera’s resignation, if she is charged with failing in her duties as minister, a condition for her confirmation. El Debate reports that the issue led to late-night negotiations on Wednesday between the EU’s three largest parties, but the condition was ultimately not included in the agreement. Nevertheless, the EPP remains firm on the point.
If Ribera is charged, both Ribera and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will face pressure for Ribera to step down. The EPP argues that should Ribera remain in office under the shadow of such charges, it would be a violation of sections 12 and 13 of the Commissioners’ Code of Conduct.