After nearly 20 hours of negotiations, the Twenty-Eight Heads of State or Government of the European Union were forced, on Monday 1 July at noon, to confirm that a political balance has not been achieved on a package of appointments to senior European positions. The presidencies of the European Commission, the European Council, the European Parliament and the ECB are to be filled by autumn, as well as the position of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
At the end of an extraordinary European summit, one of the longest in history, the Twenty-Eight decided to take a break and meet again on Tuesday 2 July at 11.00 am (see EUROPE 12285/1), with the aim of reaching an agreement on the same day as the European Parliament's inaugural session. Some of them, whose faces were haggard, negotiated for 24 hours with no downtime since their return from the G20 summit in Japan, where appointments were also discussed.
Referring to “a bad result”, German Chancellor Angela Merkel explained that the suspension of negotiations was intended to “avoid an accumulation of tensions that will endure for the next few years, especially in the context of Brexit”. “If we take a quick decision and it creates tensions for five years, we will be asked: why didn't you take one more day?" she added, hoping that a decision will be taken before the election of the Speaker of Parliament.
For the French President, Emmanuel Macron, it will be necessary to “draw the consequences of such a failure” marked by "credibility damaged by excessively long meetings that lead to nothing”. He added that “a collective dynamic did not exist”, and that some leaders did not facilitate an agreement because of their personal “ambitions”. He believes that there will be no new candidates to be pulled out of a hat.
“We have reached an agreement with the Liberal Party, we have reached an agreement with part of the EPP, but unfortunately, this agreement has not been respected by the entire EPP”, said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. He added: “What we have tried to do during this time is to try to convince the EPP that it would be good to save the Spitzenkandidaten process, to take into account what Parliament says and to have leading figures like Mr Weber and Mr Timmermans at the head of the two main institutions”.
The European leaders did not vote at the European Council. According to a European source, they preferred to suspend the meeting to avoid deepening the divisions. But it is “likely” that they will vote on Tuesday before the President of the European Parliament is elected. In their view, the Commission's presidency remains the most controversial position.
The ‘Osaka package’ wasn’t ready
One of the combinations under consideration, nicknamed the ‘Osaka package’, came back to the table several times, both in its initial configuration and with some variants, but almost always with Frans Timmermans at the head of the Commission. This package did not emerge from consultations with the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, who considers that it contains “shortcomings” concerning the gender and geographical origin of the persons concerned.
It was developed shortly before the G20 summit and then considered in Osaka over the weekend, according to Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who woke up the press room on Monday shortly before 7 a.m.
This package envisaged: - that the Presidency of the Commission would be held by the Dutch socialist, Frans Timmermans, the leading candidate (‘Spitzenkandidat’) of the Party of European Socialists, provided that he had the support of an absolute majority (376) of MEPs; - that the Presidency of the European Council would be granted to a liberal candidate; - that the Christian Democratic family would take over the Presidency of the European Parliament from the Spitzenkandidat of the European People's Party, the German Manfred Weber, as well as the position of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. In addition, the presidency of the ECB would reportedly be held by France; the name of Christine Lagarde, the head of the IMF, having been mentioned.
Several leaders have expressed their opposition to the ‘Osaka package’.
“At the previous European Council, it was said that the Spitzenkandidat criterion did not offer a solution. So we abandoned it", Mr Conte said at the end of the meeting. Referring to a group of “10 to 11 Member States” who were perplexed by this proposal, he also criticised the “method” used for a package of appointments discussed and considered outside the European Council context.
Previously, opposition had also come from the EPP party itself. The Irish Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, was one of the most virulent. “I think it is fair to say there is a lot of opposition to the puzzle that was made in Osaka”, he said when he arrived at the summit. To him, the Christian Democrats should not have given up the presidency of the Commission quite so easily, considering that they once again came out on top in the European elections.
The Liberals and Christian Democrats then began discussions for a different distribution of posts. The idea of attributing the presidency of the European Council to the EPP party, potentially to the Bulgarian Kristalina Georgieva, has been considered, with the position of High Representative being held by the Liberal family, in this case the Belgian Charles Michel. The same applies to a shared presidency of Parliament between Christian Democrats and Liberals.
But the four countries of the Visegrád Group have also expressed their opposition to having Timmermans at the head of the European Commission. In an open letter to EPP Party President Joseph Daul, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán even described this possibility as a “historic error”.
The current Vice-President of the Commission, Frans Timmermans, is responsible for negotiating on behalf of the Commission with Poland and Hungary, which have been castigated for breaches of the rule of law.
Among the other names that circulated during the night were Frenchman Michel Barnier for the presidency of the Commission and Irishman Leo Varadkar and Luxembourger Xavier Bettel for a high European office.
Election of the president of Parliament on Wednesday 3 July
Reiterating his support for the Spitzenkandidaten process, European Parliament President Antonio Tajani announced on Sunday evening that MEPs would elect the president of the European assembly on “Wednesday 3 July”, stating that Parliament’s choice was “completely independent of the EU Council’s decision”. Whether or not there is an agreement between the Twenty-Eight.
If he is not put forward by the European Council to chair the Commission, Mr Timmermans is expected to decide on Tuesday morning whether he will sit in Parliament or will complete his term in the ‘Juncker’ Commission.
The European Council's decisions on appointments to the presidencies of the Commission and the European Council as well as the post of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy require a qualified super-majority of 21 Member States representing 65% of the EU population. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion and editorial staff)