About: Spitzenkandidaten Archives

When the so-called “Spitzenkandidaten” or lead candidate method for designating the Commission president was introduced in 2014, it was celebrated as a democratic revolution. Five years later, it is difficult to find anyone seriously questioning the method - but the enthusiasm has somewhat washed away, writes Christopher Glück.

Former Finnish prime ministers Alexander Stubb and Jyrki Katainen left open the possibility on Saturday (9 June) that they would run to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as the EU executive’s president next year.

Slovakia's member of the European Commission declared his candidacy on Monday (4 June) to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as the EU executive's president, promising to try to ease tensions between western states and newer members from the ex-communist east.

To some extent the vote next May will be a test of the resilience of the forces of disruption, the main achievement of whom so far being Brexit, writes Geoffrey Harris.

En Marche will launch its “Grande Marche pour l’Europe” on the 24 March, the first step in its roadmap for the 2019 European elections. EURACTIV.fr reports

Here's a sharp knife to cut through the tangled knot of Europe's politics ‒ let's hold all national parliamentary elections on the same day as voting for the European Parliament, writes Giles Merritt.

The Czech government has responded to the challenge laid down by French President Emmanuel Macron and is going to start a series of public discussions on what shape the EU should take in the future, Aleš Chmelař, Czech State Secretary for EU affairs, told Aktuálně.cz.

EXCLUSIVE / French President Emmanuel Macron wants to “weaken” the European Parliament with his opposition to the Spitzenkandidaten process, European People’s Party influential MEP Elmar Brok warned in an interview with EURACTIV.com. Brok, who is a close ally of Chancellor Angela …

EU leaders have dealt a blow to the controversial Spitzenkandidat system of electing a European Commission president, setting themselves up for a fight with the European Parliament. The rift between Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council chief Donald Tusk deepened as the two officials clashed over the process.

Closed pan-European lists would be a game changer in how European citizens identify with EU politics, write Angelos Chryssogelos and Malgorzata Staniaszek.

The informal EU-27 summit on Friday (23 February) will discuss the preparation of the 2019 European elections, institutional issues and the next long-term EU budget. But diplomats said the leaders would steer clear of any big decisions that would require treaty change.

If the implementation of transnational lists for the 2019 European elections does not appear to be panning out as Emmanuel Macron wished, the French president now hopes to gain the upper hand on the appointment of the next European Commission president. EURACTIV.fr reports

The European Parliament is exploring ways to convert the younger generation's online engagement into higher turnout in the upcoming elections, write Ramón Luis Valcárcel and Sylvie Guillaume.

Polish citizens are happy, the economy is booming and the support for the conservative government is at an all-time high. That was the message two Polish ministers delivered to the Brussels press corps on Monday (19 February).

EU leaders face difficult talks this week on the thorny issues of how to plug holes in the post-Brexit budget and choose a successor for European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker chided French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday (14 February) for failing to form clear Europe-wide party political alliances, as manoeuvring warms up over next year's EU parliament elections.

The wind of enthusiasm blown by the victory of President Emmanuel Macron last June has vanished. In a historic vote on Wednesday, the European Parliament rejected the innovative idea of transnational lists.

MEPs are ready to pick a fight with EU leaders and reject any candidate for EU Commission president who is not voted for by the European electorate after a transparent and open process, like in the 2014 elections.

Transnational lists are a good idea to strengthen democracy at a European level but a closer look at it reveals "a bad good idea". Steven Van Hecke and Wouter Wolfs voice their three main reservations on the subject.

The race to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as head of the first post-Brexit European Commission begins later this month – and in typical EU style it is starting with a row about how the race should be run.

Maria João Rodrigues, who is emerging as the most prominent figurehead in the European Parliament's  S&D group, made it plain on Thursday (1 February) that her political group is quite critical of its Romanian affiliate member, the ruling social-democrat PSD.

With the next European Parliament elections just over a year away, the guessing games and rumour mills about who will helm the EU institutions into the next decade have already fired up. EURACTIV Germany’s partner Der Tagesspiegel reports.

Over the years, step by step, the European Parliament has won a share of real constitutional power. Today, circumstances have thrown it a golden opportunity to take another major step – but it looks as though MEPs are going to retreat again, argues Andrew Duff.