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Discussions are also focusing on Donald Tusk‘s successor to lead the European Council, Antonio Tajani at the European Parliament, foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, and European Central Bank head, Mario Draghi.
With the European Parliament’s main political groups and the EU’s leaders playing decisive roles in the decision-making process, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the French President Emmanuel Macron are openly at odds with one another about who will be named to the European Union’s top jobs.
Under the Lisbon Treaty, the EU’s leaders must take into account the outcome of the results of the election and after an initial meeting between the Chamber of Presidents in the European Parliament.
Talks between the European People’s Party (EPP), the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and the Greens have been inconclusive over their inability to agree on who the top candidate for the Commission will be.
The EPP and the PES hope to preserve the Spitzenkandidaten system that was initially used in 2014 to elect Juncker. That process refers to the lead candidate of a party. Before the campaign season begins, each party on the European level can publicly announce who their transnational candidate will be, thereby informally making them the face of the party’s election bid. The lead candidate, or Spitzenkandidat in German, who can secure a majority governing coalition in the European Parliament will become the Commission’s president if approved by the European Council. [...]
The EPP’s chosen candidate, Germany’s Manfred Weber, secured the support of his party’s leaders, but Macron flatly ruled out supporting Weber’s candidacy and instead pushed for Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans, and the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier.
Macron also lambasted the Spitzenkandidat process, saying, “I do not want to debate the names, but the plans and priorities for their appointments,” said Macron.
In contrast to Macron, Merkel said, “as a member of the EPP, I will obviously work to support the candidacy of Manfred Weber.” If, however, none of the three official candidates secures a majority, more personalities could come as names on the table.
Barnier is an obvious choice for Macron. He is a viable candidate who could secure a majority and who enjoys the backing of even leftist politicians within the coalition. He is, however, not the first choice for many of the more stridently anti-capitalist wing of the political family, including Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his left-wing counterpart, Portugal’s Antonio Costa.
Surprisingly, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who is fighting for his political life after his leftist SYRIZA party was trounced in the European elections, also said he will support “the candidate who comes first in the votes among progressive candidates, adding that his preference was for Timmermans as he would be a progressive and beneficial choice, while Weber “cannot unite the EU. [...]
Current World Bank Director Kristalina Georgieva could be a possible alternative choice to lead the Commission. [...]