Brussels, 31/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has called an informal meeting (an informal dinner) of heads of state and government for 27 May - immediately after the European elections. The objective of this informal European Council is to assess the results of the elections and to begin to examine the candidates more closely who could be appointed as president of the European Commission. The date was made official on the website of the Council on Friday 31 January.
Van Rompuy intends to invite the heads of state and government to an informal dinner to examine the balance of power in place for the different posts that are open. The definitive choice of the future president of the Commission should be made at the European Council on 26-27 June. Several candidates to succeed José Manuel Barroso are already known - current European Parliament President Martin Schulz, Guy Verhofstadt MEP (ALDE, Belgium), Green MEPs José Bové and Ska Keller, and Alexis Tsipras for the European Left.
On the EPP side, another name has recently appeared - that of Latvia's Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, whose interest is confirmed by a page on Facebook. The other names being spoken about are those of European Commissioner for the Internal Market Michel Barnier, former head of the Eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker, and Finland's Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen. The EPP will have to decide between them by its congress in Dublin on 6 March. (SP/transl.fl)