MEPs have demanded a higher position within the election of the European Fee president, calling for a clearer hyperlink between the European election outcomes and the management of the EU government.
In Strasbourg on Tuesday (12 December), lawmakers backed a proposal that may give European political events and EU Parliament political teams an outlined position within the negotiations with the 27 EU nationwide leaders to decide on who will lead the subsequent European Fee.
The main candidate of the European political occasion that will get probably the most seats in Parliament ought to lead the method within the first spherical of negotiations, together with the Parliament’s President.
Within the proposal, the European Parliament additionally asks for a “legislature settlement” to be made “as a method of securing a majority in Parliament, as a foundation for the Fee’s work programme, and as a assure, to European voters, of a coherent follow-up to the elections”.
Within the present arrange, EU lawmakers within the European Parliament – and European political events – would not have a say within the negotiations on the Fee nominee. The 27 heads of states within the European Council decide the selection, which will need to have unanimous help.
European political events – that are a congregation of nationwide events for every political household – can not directly affect the method by the occasion that governs in a particular nation.
After the top of state negotiations, the European Parliament has a confidence vote on the brand new president – the one stage at which MEPs are concerned.
“Voters want readability on how their vote will have an effect on the selection of the folks and insurance policies of the EU. Whoever is elected President of the newly shaped Fee requires a transparent mandate from the voters and a majority in Parliament,” the centre-right MEP Sven Simon, co-rapporteur of the proposal, advised reporters on Tuesday.
Spitzenkandidaten
In line with the Lisbon Treaty, head of states can “take note of” the main candidate of the European occasion that acquired most seats as a doable Fee president (the so-called spitzenkandidat system), a consideration that labored within the 2014 marketing campaign for Jean Claude Junker, the European Individuals’s Celebration (EPP) lead candidate who then led the EU government till 2019.
Nevertheless, within the 2019 elections, the EPP’s main candidate Manfred Weber, didn’t safe the European Fee presidency and his German Christian Democrat colleague was elected with a slight majority by the European Parliament.
The centre left and the centre proper (EPP and the socialists) are planning to pick lead candidates however are unlikely to make the method a pivotal level of the electoral marketing campaign methods, as compared with the earlier elections, whereas the European Greens are pushing hardest on retaining the spitzenkandidat scheme.
“We’d additionally prefer to see concrete post-electoral procedures to extend the visibility of the position performed by the European political events in electing the Fee President and strengthen the electoral rights of all European residents,” the socialist MEP co-rapporteur on the file, Domenec Ruiz Devesa advised reporters.
[Edited by Benjamin Fox/Nathalie Weatherald]
Learn extra with Euractiv
