Brussels begins bickering over Juncker’s successor
DIVISIONS within the EU over who should succeed Jean-claude Juncker as head of the bloc’s executive were brutally exposed in Brussels last night.
In a rare public disagreement, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and Emmanuel Macron, the French president, were at loggerheads over the vacancy. It came as EU leaders looked set to collide with the European Parliament over the appointment of a new European Commission president.
Michel Barnier, the EU’S chief Brexit negotiator, emerged as a compromise candidate but his chances were ruled out by MEPS, who must back the eventual appointment by a majority.
The deadlock could foment a constitutional crisis and paralyse the Brussels machinery if MEPS refuse to back whichever candidate is eventually chosen by the European Council. It could mean Mr Juncker may have to continue in a caretaker role, leaving the EU unable to push forward with new initiatives until the impasse is resolved.
EU leaders, including Theresa May in her penultimate Brussels summit, met in the Europa building for opening discussions over who would lead the commission for the next five years.
Under discussion was whether or not to repeat the “Spitzenkandidat method” of choosing a commission president, which ties the job to European election results, with each political group nominating a lead candidate.
Donald Tusk, the European Council president, said there would be no such automatic link this time, while leaders including Mr Macron made it clear they wanted the EU’S experiment with “direct democracy” to end. As he arrived at the summit, Mr Macron pointedly refused to name Manfred Weber, the Spitzenkandidat for the centreright European People’s Party.
Mr Weber lacks executive experience and does not speak French, but heads the largest group in the parliament. Mr Barnier, named by Mr Macron, did not campaign in the European elections. “We have to take into account what … the European people have expressed and we must also have decision-makers who have the credibility to be able to act,” Mr Macron said. But Mrs Merkel responded: “As a member of the EPP, I will of course advocate for Manfred Weber.”
Socialist and liberal leaders backed rival candidates such as Frans Timmermans, Mr Juncker’s deputy, and Margrethe Vestager, the Danish competition commissioner. But the European Parliament is itself divided.
Brexit has been “vaccine against anti-eu propaganda”, Mr Tusk told journalists as he welcomed “a pro-european majority” in the European Parliament in a press conference after an informal dinner in Brussels between EU leaders.
He said: “I have no doubt that one of the reasons why people on the continent voted for a pro-european majority is also Brexit.
“As Europeans see what Brexit means in practice, they also draw conclusions. Brexit has been a vaccine against anti-eu propaganda and fake news.”
He also said he favoured a Brexit solution that “was even more radical than an extension”, adding: “We are all aware of what is the state of play in London today – nothing promising.”