The President-elect of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will attend her first European Summit on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 October, while the College she will preside over will be delayed for a few weeks.
In particular, the heads of state or government would like to know how Mrs von der Leyen intends to implement the work programme she unveiled at the end of July in the European Parliament (see EUROPE 12297/1) and to what extent this programme is compatible with the Strategic Agenda for the new institutional cycle adopted by the European Council at the end of June (see EUROPE 12279/1).
"Mrs von der Leyen will present her interpretation of the Strategic Agenda. She has six priorities and the European Council has four", noted a national diplomatic source on Wednesday 16 October.
Not surprisingly, there will also be talk of the future Commission taking office after the rejection of the Hungarian, Romanian and French Commissioners-designate during the hearings process in the European Parliament.
"We're wasting valuable time. It is only natural that the heads of state or government, together with the President-elect, should consider how to restart the engine", said the same source.
"The European Parliament no longer has quite the cohesion it once had. The duopoly no longer exists", considered a second diplomatic source.
On the French side, we want discussions - at the European summit or in the margins of it, within political families - on the conditions for political stability at a European level in the face of the uncertainty observed in the European Parliament. French President Emmanuel Macron will participate for the first time in the European Liberal family meeting.
According to Paris, the aim for pro-European political groups is not to formalise a coalition agreement, but to give the Commission visibility on the majority that supports it. This is a prerequisite for the presentation, at the earliest at the end of the week, of a new French bid for the Internal market portfolio, the outlines of which must not change.
To regain the initiative, Mrs von der Leyen invited the leaders of the Parliament's main political groups for a breakfast discussion, on Friday 18 October (see EUROPE 12349/8). The group chairmen, Manfred Weber (EPP, Germany) and Dacian Cioloș (Renew Europe, Romania), confirmed their participation. The S&D group has indicated that Iratxe García Pérez of Spain will attend if the meeting takes place. From London, Greens/EFA Group co-Chair Philippe Lamberts of Belgium told EUROPE that such discussions, if they take place, do not include environmentalists. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion and editorial staff)