In his latest critique of European Union institutions, Elon Musk, the billionaire tech entrepreneur and close adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, called the newly approved European Commission “undemocratic.” Musk took to social media to express his dissatisfaction with the EU Parliament giving up its authority to the Commission.
Musk argued that the EU Parliament should have direct voting power on matters instead of delegating authority. However, it’s important to note that the Parliament does have the ability to vote directly on European commissioners and participate in shaping EU laws alongside national government representatives in the EU Council.
The approval of the 26 commissioners by the European Parliament marked the end of a lengthy transition process characterized by political infighting between left- and right-wing groups within the bloc. Each EU country nominates a commissioner who is then assigned policy portfolios by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The nominees are subsequently questioned and voted on individually by MEPs before being voted on as a whole during a plenary session.
This isn’t the first time Musk has expressed strong opinions about political processes outside of his own country. He has a history of sharing his views on social media platform X regarding various countries’ politics. In October, he engaged in an online spat with outgoing European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová, referring to her as “the epitome of banal, bureaucratic evil.” Earlier this week, Musk criticized the United Kingdom’s Labour government, calling it a “tyrannical police state.”
Musk’s involvement in politics escalated this summer when he publicly endorsed Trump’s presidential candidacy and provided significant financial support to his campaign. Since then, he has served as a close adviser to Trump and has been involved in diplomatic conversations with world leaders.
Elon Musk continues to be vocal about his concerns regarding democratic processes both within the EU and beyond. His outspoken nature and influence as a tech billionaire make his opinions on politics highly scrutinized.