Brussels, 03/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has repeated his opposition to election by direct universal suffrage of the president of institutions such as the European Commission or the European Council. He argues that such an approach would be counter-productive. “I said it in New York: you give this man or this woman a huge legitimacy. But if you keep the same competence for the top job, you organise the disappointment in advance”, he affirmed last week at a conference organised by the Bertelsmann Foundation, the Egmont Institute, the King Baudouin Foundation and the Polish think tank demosEuropa, Euractiv.com has reported. He added, “if this is not going hand-in-hand with large powers for the Commission, then forget it”.
Meeting in the “Future of Europe” group, 11 European Chancelleries issued a report in September on strengthening the EMU, the democratic legitimacy of the EU and the responsibilities of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs (see EUROPE 10692). They argued that the president of the Commission could, ultimately, be elected by universal suffrage.
Van Rompuy went as far as to say that it would be “even more absurd” to consider directly electing the president of the European Council. How could such a person forge compromises and promote consensus among heads of state and government if he/she is given “a legitimacy even higher than of the participants in the Council” he asked. (MB/transl.fl)