About: Spitzenkandidaten Archives

The opposition between France and Germany over the appointment of the new European Commission president reflects their radically different political views. For France, the treaty and the best candidate matter the most, while for Germany, the priority is democracy. EURACTIV France reports.

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 leaders failed to reach an agreement in the early hours of Friday (21 June) on the EU's top jobs, as divisions over the process and the distribution of the posts impeded any progress.

Ska Keller is a German Green MEP and co-president of the Greens and European Free Alliance (EFA). The Greens’ unexpected success in the EU elections, combined with the continued decline of the Socialists and Conservatives, means they might emerge as kingmakers.

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.

It would be wise to accept that the Spitzenkandidaten system is broken and to look for a democratic replacement, writes Dick Roche, bringing up as arguments nuggets of vintage EU politics.

Following the European elections in May, MEPs and EU member states will shape the transition into the new term. These are the next steps towards the formation of the Parliament and the Commission.

Welcome to Euractiv’s #EUtweets of the week. This week it’s election election election, Spitzenkandidaten anticipate rejection and EU leaders tussle over selection. This episode is supported by Amfori find out more about their big event at the end. Last week saw a bumper …

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.

Initial battle lines were drawn between member states over who will replace Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission President on Tuesday (28 May) as EU leaders met to discuss “no names, just process”, in preparation for a decisive summit in June.

The process of naming the next Commission president should respect the Spitzenkandidaten system, the leaders of the political groups in the European Parliament said in a joint statement on Tuesday (28 May), despite opposition from the liberal ALDE group.

Five members of the Juncker Commission have been elected as MEPs, the EU executive confirmed on Tuesday (28 May). What remains to be seen is whether they will take their seats in the European Parliament or stay on as Commissioners.

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.

Familiar faces and new names will be competing for the EU’s top jobs, as capitals are starting to manoeuvre and prepare the ground for their preferred candidates, EURACTIV has found out after talking to EU officials and diplomats.

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.

This week's European parliamentary elections will launch a scramble for the continent's top leadership jobs, but won't decide the winners. Here is a guide to the horsetrading. 

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.

The six lead candidates of the main political parties laid out their visions of Europe on Wednesday evening (15 May), clashing over jobs and climate change in their last televised debate before the EU elections.

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.

Europe’s leaders on Thursday (9 May) agreed to attend an emergency summit immediately after the EU elections on 28 May, as European Council President Donald Tusk said he wanted to have the distribution of the bloc’s top jobs decided in June.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, a Liberal candidate to be the next Commission President, believes the key to improving Europe’s environment and fighting climate change will be implementing the laws already on the books.

Margrethe Vestager, one of the seven lead candidate for the Liberals in next month’s EU elections, views Juncker’s “project teams” as a success and would consider establishing multiple environment commissioners for different areas such as climate change, biodiversity, air pollution or chemicals.

European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans on Monday (6 May) called for each EU member to have a minimum wage equivalent to 60% of its median salary to reduce the bloc's growing wealth gap.