Europe > Western Europe > Germany > Germany and UK disagree on candidate for next EU Commission president

Germany: Germany and UK disagree on candidate for next EU Commission president

2014/06/02

Mr. Juncker belongs to the European People's Party, which won the majority seats in the European polls last week. The centre-right party, which as well includes Merkel's Christian Democrat party, won 213 out of 751 seats in the European Parliament and chose Juncker as its candidate for the presidency succeeding Portugal's Jose Manuel Barroso.

Juncker's major rival is the Socialist candidate Martin Schulz.

EU leaders traditionally choose the Commission chief on their own, but under new rules have to “take into account” the results of the European parliamentary elections.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she wants former Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker to become the next EU Commission president. But some European leaders have voiced opposition to the move, inclunding the British government who argue that Mr. Juncker is too much of an EU federalist and called for “a lengthy process to find consensus”.

Chancellor Merkel said on Friday that the EPP “with its top candidate Jean-Claude Juncker has become the strongest political power which is why I am presently conducting all talks exactly in this spirit, that Jean-Claude Juncker should become president of the European Commission”.

It is seen as her clearest statement of support for the veteran politician, who once chaired the Eurogroup of Eurozone finance ministers that had to make tough decisions about struggling deficit-laden nations.

The announcement came despite UK Prime Minister David Cameron making his views clear, at a Brussels conference before this week, that he wanted a reformer to take charge of the EU executive.

But Chancellor Merkel drew criticism from politicians and media in Germany at the same time as she indicated that Mr. Juncker may not end up leading the Commission, next some member states expressed reservations about him.

Downing Street is emphasizing that it will be national governments and not the European parliament which will have to acknowledge on the president. European leaders hostile to the appointment include Sweden's Fredrik Reinfeldt and Hungary's Viktor Orban.

Comments

Related Articles

Germany backs Libya to host AFCON 2017
2014/07/09 Germany will back Libya to organise the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the German ambassador in Tripoli, Christian Mokh, has said. 'There is bilateral cooperation agreement in that respect which will be signed in a little while,' Mr Mokh told the Libyan news agency LANA, at a ceremony held on Saturday by the German embassy in Tripoli for the Libya female football team. The German diplomat said that a Libyan sports delegation visited Frankfurt in Germany recently for the completion of the agreement. He said that the presence of German football legend Franz Beckenbauer in Libya in February to lay the foundation stone for the Tajoura stadium in Tripoli was proof of the excellent cooperation and support from Germany to the Libyan dossier.
Valencia Convention & Exhibition Center finishes with optimism its participation in IMEX 2014
2014/06/01 Valencia Convention & Exhibiton Centre participated in IMEX 2014, the large MICE industry event - tourism business, events, conventions and incentives-which takes place each month of May in Frankfurt, and this year highlighted by the great turnout of buyers. The conference was held from 20th to 22nd May. In this show, the events of Valencia Convention & Exhibition Centre had a double participation having a counter in Tourspain Stand E300 inclunding a desk at Valencia Tourism Board Stand E285. The number of pre-scheduled appointments done before IMEX increased reasonably with regards to prior IMEX shows. The presence in social media as well grew during the participation in the show, specially on Twitter (@eventos_fv ), where Valencia Convention & Exhibition Centre managed to increase its visibility significantly.
Germany's industrial production increased for the fourth consecutive month in February
2014/04/08 Germany's industrial production increased for the fourth consecutive month in February, suggesting robust contribution to the initial quarter gross domestic product. Meanwhile, separate survey data showed that Eurozone investor confidence as well climbed for a fourth straight month to mark a three-year high, driven by strong views on current conditions. However, the investor sentiment for Germany, the biggest economy in the bloc, eased. Industrial production advanced 0.4 % month-on-month, but slower than the 0.7 % rise seen in January, data from Destatis showed Monday. The increase exceeded a 0.3 % rise estimate by economists. Production in industry, excluding energy and construction climbed 0.5 % in February, it said. Output in energy and construction dropped by 0.3 % and 0.1 %, respectively.
Germany's factory new order increase exceeded expectations on robust domestic request in February
2014/04/07 Germany's factory new order increase exceeded expectations on robust domestic request in February, official data showed Friday. Factory orders advanced 0.6 % from the previous month, Destatis said. Economists had estimate orders to rise 0.2 % next posting a 0.1 % gain in January, which was revised down sharply from 1.2 %. Domestic orders climbed 1.2 %, while foreign orders grew only 0.2 %. The manufacturers of intermediate and capital goods recorded increases in orders of 1.2 % and 0.4 %, respectively. For capital goods, however, a decrease in orders of 0.8 % was reported.
Get your passport when traveling from Poland to Germany
2014/03/18 The Federal Police in an eastern German started border controls between Poland and Germany due to rising crime rates, seven years next checks at crossings were scrapped. Poland joined the EU in 2004 and in 2007 controls at the border with Germany ended as it joined the Schengen zone. But a rising crime rate in the border region meant Brandenburg would be reestablishing police checks, the national's interior minister said on Wednesday.