Brussels, 21/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - Will the European People's Party (EPP) maintain its enthusiasm for appointing a candidate for the next president of the European Commission? The question was asked at a briefing on Monday morning by the head of the ALDE liberals at the European Parliament, Graham Watson, who wondered whether the death of Wilfried Martens, the great advocate of the new procedure agreed upon by the political groupings, would have a negative impact on the process of choosing a candidate. He said that the absence of Martens from the process might be felt and he hoped the EPP would not move backwards. The process of each political grouping choosing a candidate for president of the Commission has not been challenged in any way, responded the EPP, pointing out that it was one of the first to promote the idea of a candidate from each political party. The fact that congresses and the designation of a candidate will not take place until March 2014, in Dublin, means in fact that the EPP wants to have the last word after all the other groups have announced their candidates, explained the EPP. Unofficially, several potential candidates in member states' governments are mentioned within the EPP, such as Enda Kenny. Unless they resign, they would not be able to issue criticisms or comment on rumours, explained the party. In Brussels on 13 November, the EPP will be holding a special summit to deal with elections, which will deal with how the party chooses candidates. Unlike the other parties, the EPP has not yet decided on this. (SP/transl.fl)