The European Christian Democrats are holding an electoral congress in Bucharest on Wednesday 6 and Thursday 7 March, during which they will nominate Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, as a lead candidate (‘Spitzenkandidat’) of the European People’s Party (EPP) for the European elections.
In 2024, Ms von der Leyen faces no competition, whereas in 2019 in Helsinki, Germany’s Manfred Weber easily disposed of Finland’s Alexander Stubb (see EUROPE 12133/2). This does not mean that support for the German leader will be unanimous in Bucharest. The French party Les Républicains will not support her, considering her to be the candidate ‘pulled out of the hat’ in 2019 by French President Emmanuel Macron, who rejected Weber’s candidacy. A Slovenian party is also opposed to Ms von der Leyen’s appointment.
This will be the first time that an outgoing Commission President will play the role of ‘Spitzenkandidat’ for a European political party, and will have to defend her record after five years at the head of the EU institution, marked by crises - the Covid-19 pandemic and Russian military aggression in Ukraine - and the implementation of the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality objective across all economic sectors.
If she wins next June, Ms von der Leyen will be eligible for a second term, provided the European Council chooses her and the future European Parliament appoints her. The fact that twelve - soon to be thirteen - Heads of State or Government sitting on the European Council are from the EPP is a serious asset.
According to a number of opinion polls, eurosceptic and even europhobic forces are likely to gain ground in the European elections, further diminishing the pro-European majority formed by the Christian Democrats, the Social Democrats and the centre-right. One of the questions raised is whether the EPP will continue to lead a tight pro-European majority or whether it will be tempted to act with the sovereignists, at least on certain issues.
“We will never work with anti-European forces against pro-Europeans”, Siegfried Mureșan, vice-president of the EPP party and group in the European Parliament, assured EUROPE (see EUROPE 13363/13) on Monday 4 March.
At the end of February, Ms von der Leyen set out the criteria for cooperation between the EPP and other political forces. “I will work with the pro-European, pro-NATO, pro-Ukraine parties, with the defenders of our democratic values”, she said (see EUROPE 13355/4).
In Bucharest, the EPP will adopt its electoral manifesto, which sets out a number of priorities: security in the broad sense, aid to Ukraine, economic competitiveness, the climate transition with citizens and businesses, and defence of the rule of law and fundamental values.
See the EPP’s final draft election manifesto: https://aeur.eu/f/b4n
The Christian Democrats will also adopt a number of specific resolutions, including one setting out a ‘European Plan for Victory in Ukraine’ (see EUROPE 13355/1). The plan urges EU Member States to devote 0.25% of their GDP each year to military aid to Ukraine, advocates a European strategy for strengthening the military industry, and envisages binding rules that would prohibit them from exporting their armaments to third countries until Ukraine’s needs have been met.
Other EPP resolutions concern the seizure of frozen Russian assets to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine, as well as respect for the rule of law, including a scathing criticism of Spain’s amnesty law for Catalan independentists.
Further information: https://aeur.eu/f/b4s (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)