Following his selection as one of three finalists for the post of Secretary General of the Council of Europe (see EUROPE 13326/20), the European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, has officially requested a leave of absence from the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
Mr Reynders is now awaiting the President’s decision, said Balazs Ujvari, a spokesman for the EU institution, on Tuesday 26 March.
The evening before, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe had officially submitted to the Parliamentary Assembly its list of candidates for the post of Secretary General of the Strasbourg-based organisation.
Following hearings held last week, the permanent representatives of the 46 member states of the Council of Europe did not rule out any of the three declared candidates, but ranked them in order of preference determined by a vote.
Former Federal Councillor and President of the Swiss Confederation Alain Berset (Socialist) – a last-minute candidate announced on 10 January – heads the list against two former ministers: the Estonian Social Democrat Indrek Saar (former Minister of Culture), ranked second, and the Belgian Liberal Didier Reynders (former Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs), currently European Commissioner for Justice, who is in third place after being tipped as favourite at the end of last year.
This order of preference announced by the permanent ambassadors to the Council of Europe is a “recommendation” and in no way prejudges the vote of the Parliamentary Assembly, which will be sovereign on 25 June.
During the election for the post of Secretary-General in 2019 (see EUROPE 12223/33), Mr Reynders had to lose to the Croatian Marija Pejčinović Burić, even though he had been placed first by the Committee of Ministers. As required by procedure, the vote on 25 June will be held during the plenary session in Strasbourg and by secret ballot.
An absolute majority will be required in the first ballot and a relative majority in the second ballot.
It is now up to the candidates to campaign both with the political groups represented in the Strasbourg hemicycle and with the 46 national delegations that sit there. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc with Mathieu Bion)