Milan, 09/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) has several points in common with Jean-Claude Juncker and is ready to follow him on certain of these - especially the digital economy - but the group does not have enough points in common with him to give him its support during the European Parliament vote in Strasbourg on 15 July.
This is what the ECR Group stated in a press release published on Tuesday 8 July after Juncker's hearing with regard to his candidacy for the European Commission presidency. Juncker had arguments likely to win over the ECR Group (which includes the UK's Conservatives). He thus said that he is not at all against the nation states - despite what “can be read in the British press”, he said sarcastically. He was also of the opinion that the EU is too bureaucratic and must now only focus on the big issues.
“The group held a good discussion with Mr Juncker”, said ECR leader, Syed Kamall. There are several areas on which “we think we can work with him”, Kamall added - especially if Juncker commits in concrete terms to the single digital market, to trade and to promoting energy security. However, he said, the ECR Group and Juncker have differing opinions on their vision of the future EU. In addition, the ECR still cannot stomach Juncker being a spitzenkandidat in a process that the ECR had rejected from the start.
In the view of MEPs from the ECR, this process of personalising the European Parliament election campaign is a shift of power to the detriment of the member states, and they believe a false link is established between the citizens voting for their national party and the candidates nominated for the Commission by the Europe-wide parties. The ECR will thus not be able to vote for Juncker. (SP)