Brussels, 24/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - A President of the Commission and a roadmap for the next five years. It is to these two major points that EU heads of state and government will turn their attention at the European summit of Thursday 26 and Friday 27 June.
The leaders will discuss the strategic priorities of the EU for the next few years. This is not necessarily a topic for discussion on which there will be consensus but it is likely there will be more than on the appointment of the president of the European Commission, which is on the agenda for 27 June, and on which the British prime minister, David Cameron, has promised that he will not hold back.
In theory, the Luxembourg Christian Democrat, Jean-Claude Juncker, is likely to be put forward by President of the European Council,Herman Van Rompuy to the member states and the European Parliament ahead of a vote in Strasbourg in mid-July. However, Cameron will prevent this choice from being enshrined by tacit consensus and he told Van Rompuy in London on Monday 23 June that he expects the president of the European Council to arrange a vote on Juncker.
This decision is entirely up to him. “The Treaty provides for a rule (qualified majority), it is up to Herman Van Rompuy to decide and to select the procedure”, a European source said on Tuesday morning. Certain countries, such as France, have no intention of calling for a vote but will decide at the time, if the situation should become tense.
At the time of going to press, the former prime minister of Luxembourg seems on paper to have a clear majority, as only the United Kingdom and Hungary are openly against him. However, the Socialists and Democrats have no intention of signing with their eyes closed and expect “a balance in the responsibilities, in the programme”, according to a source from a large country.
In particular, the Social Democrats expect the favour to be returned for other positions, such as the presidency of the European Council, which may be discussed at the end of the week but will not, like the working programme, be the subject of a formal decision until after the summer. The names regularly mentioned to take over from Herman Van Rompuy are Denmark's Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Italy's Enrico Letta and even Jean-Marc Ayrault of France.
There is also the matter of appointing the future high representative of the EU to take over from Cathy Ashton. On this point, Poland's Radoslaw Sikorski's chances seem a lot slimmer in recent days (see other article), as the minister has been implicated in the major bugging scandal currently rocking the country. Italy's Matteo Renzi is also believed to have an eye on the position, with his foreign minister, Federica Mogherini, also seen as a possible candidate to take over from Ashton. Another job to be filled by the autumn is that of the permanent president of the Eurogroup.
But before then, another discussion of some importance awaits the Twenty-Eight - the work to be carried out by the Commission over the next five years and the reforms to be undertaken. A number of countries have prepared their contributions to this discussion and have forwarded documents on this to Van Rompuy, who has also produced a document on the subject.
In the view of Italy, which wishes to prioritise the substance, Europe unarguably needs a “new start” and must above all avoid any institutional warfare over the names. Among the working priorities feature growth and employment, which require action on several fronts: structural reforms and completion of the single market. The flexibilities of the stability and growth pact must be studied more closely in this framework and modified if need be, if this will encourage reform (see other article).
On this point, Italy has France in its corner. The Socialist government has also produced its own roadmap to feed into the debate. Listing a series of challenges, such as growth, youth employment, EU external action, security and reform of the functioning of the EU, France's attention is mainly on the stability and growth pact, with Paris also wanting to secure the possibility of making “maximum use of the flexibility” on offer. Immigration and energy are also sensitive issues, as is the physiognomy of the future Commission. The European affairs ministers, meeting in Luxembourg for their Council, will hone these priorities on Tuesday evening.
Other conclusions are also expected at the summit, particularly on the European semester, policies with a bearing on justice and home affairs and Lithuania's accession to the eurozone.
Sharing the Presidency of the EP between the EPP and S&D Groups. It is worth noting that the EPP and S&D Groups at the European Parliament have confirmed their agreement to share the presidency of the European Parliament, with Germany's Martin Schulz to serve for the first half of the legislative period on behalf of the Socialists, followed possibly by Alain Lamassoure of France, whose name is doing the rounds. The Belgian Liberal Guy Verhofstadt, a major loser in the elections, also had his eye on the position and appeared to be an informal candidate for the presidency of the EP. The ALDE Group is to meet on Tuesday evening to discuss dividing the spoils between its members: two committees, one vice-presidency and three delegations. (SP)