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French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday (21 June) the three so-called Spitzenkandidaten – or lead candidates – for the European Commission presidency had each failed to receive enough support among European Union leaders in Brussels.

EU member states risk plunging the blog into an "institutional crisis," should they decide to abandon the Spitzenkandidat process of selecting the next President of the European Commission, a senior EPP source has told EURACTIV.

Despite securing a place among the very few European leaders with a landslide victory under their belt in the EU election, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán is not celebrating, write Balázs Jarábik and Dániel Bartha.

As Globsec’s 2019 forum in Bratislava kicked off earlier this week, EURACTIV went along to listen to world leaders from politics, civil society and business on the Future of Europe. Here we present a summary of the main talking points in the field, across the first two days.

French President Emmanuel Macron wants to change the Spitzenkandidaten process to ensure a strong European executive. According to him, the programme comes first, and only then the candidate who could implement it. EURACTIV France reports.

European leaders descend on Brussels on Tuesday (28 May) to launch the hunt for a new generation of top EU officials in the wake of elections that shook up traditional alliances.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday (27 May) and is expected to lobby for several socialist and social-democrat candidates for EU top jobs, as member states and political groups start jockeying for position.

The conservative European People's Party once again won the most seats in the European Parliament after EU elections on Sunday (26 May) but will face difficulties building a controlling majority as the Greens, the Liberals and the far-right posted big gains, reflecting growing political polarisation in the 28-country bloc.

Climate change is now a top priority for EU voters, so where do the parities stand when it comes to climate action? Elisa Giannelli, explores.

Despite his Christian convictions, the lead candidate for the European People’s Party (EPP) at this week’s EU elections has remained remarkably silent on defining environmental issues such as climate change before suddenly changing gear at the end of his campaign.

The lead candidate for the centre-right in this week’s European elections says “Europe must move towards net-zero emissions by 2050,” voicing his belief in innovation and new technologies to drive the decarbonisation agenda if he becomes the next president of the European Commission.

The main candidates for the European Commission's presidency opposed Manfred Weber, the candidate of the European People's Party (EPP), despite it being the group that will likely come out as the winner in the elections. EURACTIV France reports.

Chancellor Merkel is showing great concern for the EU and emphasising an increased sense of responsibility for Europe. Could she have plans to move to Brussels? EURACTIV's media partner Der Tagesspiegel and agencies report.

It is unlikely that Manfred Weber will become President of the European Commission. This is also because Germany often acts as a 'blocker'. Gerd Appenzeller, from EURACTIV's partner Der Tagesspiegel, gives his opinion.

Lead candidates for the upcoming European elections are pondering ways of safeguarding the media sector's integrity in light of persistent economic challenges and emerging threats like Russian disinformation.

The European Commission said on Monday (13 May) that Romania is close to being hit with Article 7 of the EU treaties, the heaviest punishment for a member state deviating from rule of law fundamentals. Losing the chance to join the Schengen zone any time soon would be one of the consequences.

The leader of Germany's conservatives said she expected Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party would quit Europe's main centre-right group after he withdrew support for the bloc's candidate to head the European Commission.

An oddly uncontroversial debate between the lead candidates of the four major pro-European political families at this month's EU elections took place in Florence on Thursday (2 May).

Merkel and Macron do not go hand in hand when it comes to the European elections. The French ruling party is using this for verbal attacks on the German Chancellor. EURACTIV’s media partner Der Tagesspiegel reports.

The lead candidate for Europe's conservative bloc in next month's EU elections has said he would try to stop the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if he becomes European Commission president, according to an interview published Tuesday (23 April).

The European People’s Party (EPP) has scored very poorly in an analysis of how MEPs voted on climate policies, ranking even lower than the European Parliament's far-right contingent. In Germany, it is a similar story. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Britain should use the next few months to "cool down and rethink" its decision to leave the European Union, the socialist candidate to head the next European Commission, Frans Timmermans, said on Wednesday (17 April).

Most European leaders and parties have agreed to the Spitzenkandidat principle. If they suddenly ditched it, it would be a huge step back for democracy in Europe and could risk conflict between the European Parliament and the Council, said Manfred Weber, the centre-right EPP party's Spitzenkandidat for the European elections.

The European People's Party has “lost all credibility and moral authority to lead the EU,” ALDE's leader Guy Verhofstadt has said, following the EPP's decision to suspend but not expel Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party.