BRUSSELS, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Four EU member states are suggesting a deal that would give a social democrat the European Commission presidency, but the idea has prompted consternation on the centre-right.
EU leaders gathered Sunday for a special summit to hash out a package deal on leadership posts. But the proposal has revived deep divisions, and European Council President Donald Tusk put the summit on pause to hold meetings with individual EU leaders, his spokesman said.
The proposal, floated by Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands, is an attempt to break an impasse since EU elections in May handed losses to the centre-right and centre-left parties, but strengthened the liberals and Greens.
Tusk relayed the proposal to EU lawmakers and other EU leaders Sunday ahead of the summit, which started with a delay or more than three hours.
While Tusk did not offer names, Frans Timmermans of the Netherlands, currently commission vice president, ran as the socialists’ lead candidate in May’s EU elections. His party came in second, after the rival centre-right European People’s Party (EPP).
Under such a deal, if a social democrat were to become commission president, the EPP could secure the posts of top EU diplomat and parliament president, EU lawmakers said. The liberals, who came in third, could field the successor to Tusk as president of the European Council.
EU leaders must also approve a new president for the European Central Bank (ECB), although that decision may come later.
Such a proposal would mean that Manfred Weber, an EU lawmaker from Germany who campaigned as the EPP’s lead candidate, would not get the commission presidency, despite his bloc having come first in the election.
For his part, Timmermans faces strong opposition from some central European member states. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban – who has clashed repeatedly with Brussels and with Timmermans in particular – sent a letter to the EPP warning that such a nomination would be “a historical mistake.”
Meanwhile, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said before the summit that the EPP would not give up the commission presidency without a fight.
A chief problem for Weber’s candidacy has been strong opposition from French President Emmanuel Macron. Timmermans is among the candidates qualified for the commission presidency, Macron said Sunday.
Heading into the summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that a resolution “will not be easy.”
After EU leaders nominate candidates, they must secure majority backing in the European Parliament. The parliament has insisted that the commission president be chosen from among the top candidates who stood for their respective parties in May’s elections.
She said that the EPP and Socialists are sticking to that principle, but she noted that the EPP lost seats and does not have a majority.
“We will try to be constructive,” said Merkel. “But it is also important to avoid an inter-institutional conflict, so it will take a while.”
