Brussels, 09/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - A working dinner was held on Wednesday evening on 9 July at the Elysée Palace between French President François Hollande and the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso. The aim of this event was to prepare for the European Ssummit on 16 July, which will decide on the allocation of several key posts in Europe.
On Wednesday, a Commission spokesperson, Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, announced during a press briefing in Brussels that the president of the Commission would be at the “Elysée for a working dinner, part of the European Council and our preparation for the forthcoming European Council”. On Thursday, Barroso will meet the French prime minister, Manuel Valls, for the first time. They will discuss the economic situation in Europe and France.
On Friday 16 July, European leaders must decide who will occupy the posts of president of the European Council, to replace Herman Van Rompuy, and EU high representative, after Catherine Ashton. They are also due to select the permanent president of the Eurogroup. In addition to these appointments, the heads of state and government may also begin to put forward their candidates for the commissioner posts at the new Commission. The race was launched again on Tuesday, following the proposal from the probable next president of the Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, who stated that the next commissioner for economic affairs would “probably” be a Socialist. The former French minister for finance, Pierre Moscovici, and the current president of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem from the Netherlands, are favourites for the post. While it seems likely that Moscovici will be the next French commissioner, the French president is still hesitating about what post France would like (economy or energy), said a European source. Officially, Hollande has only said that he wanted a post of vice-president for France in the new Commission. (LC)