The European Commission will present its contribution on Wednesday 14 February to the debate on the post-2020 multiannual financial framework (MFF) and on the Spitzenkandidaten process in the 2019 European elections, both of which items are on the agenda of the informal European summit on Friday 23 February.
The Commission wants to involve the member states at as early a stage as possible in the debate on the EU budget, on both the expenditure and income sides, before presenting its formal proposals at the end of May. This, it argues, is the best way to reach agreement among the 27 members on the forthcoming MFF before the European elections, with the European Parliament moving into campaign mode from early in 2019.
The Commission wants a budget in excess of 1.1% of gross national income. In the European Parliament, Budget Commissioner Günther Oettinger last week set out the avenues being explored by the Commission on how to cope with the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU and on financing the new policy priorities (defence, security and migration) (see EUROPE 11934 and 11935).
Spitzenkandidaten. The Commission will also address the issue of Spitzenkandidaten, candidates designated by the political parties to become the president of the Commission in the event of his/her party’s winning most seats in the European elections. This system was used for the first time in 2014 when Jean-Claude Juncker was the Christian Democrat candidate. In his state of the Union speech in September, Juncker expressed the hope that this system would continue (see EUROPE 11861). He will not, however, be involved, having announced his intention not to stand for a second term.
The EPP family backs this procedure insofar as, given the way things currently stand politically in Europe, it has every chance of coming out on top.
At their Congress, in Lisbon in December 2017, the Social Democrats set themselves the challenge of winning the European elections and having their candidate become the next European Commission president.
Associated with this is the idea of a European constituency that would make it possible to elect MEPs from a transnational list. The constitutional affairs committee has again indicated its desire to see lists of this sort (see EUROPE 11945). It remains to be seen whether the European Parliament will give its blessing to this move in plenary session next week. Among the member states, the Mediterranean countries and Ireland support transnational lists while the Visegrad group are against (see EUROPE 11948). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)