All posts in Europe Decides Weekly

27

Oct

Europe Decides Weekly – 25 October

Tags: Angela Merkel, Hannes Swoboda, Jean-Claude Juncker, Marine Le Pen, Werner Faymann

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Top stories: 19-25 October 2013

Luxembourg elections: A bitter-sweet win for Juncker: Jean-Claude Juncker’s Christian Social People’s Party won the most seats in the Luxembourgian parliamentary elections, but are set to enter opposition as the Socialists, Liberals and Greens negotiate a coalition. Juncker is the EU’s longest-serving head of government, having become Prime Minister in 1995. Euronews; BusinessWeek; Deutsche Welle; EPP; EPP; Europe Online Magazine; AECR Group; ALDE Party; European Greens; European Voice; EU Observer; EuroNews; Express; EurActiv

Le Pen launches plan to unite the far right: Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French National Front said that the European Union will ‘collapse like the Soviet Union’. She made the remarks during the launch of her plan to unite far-right parties from across Europe ahead of the European Parliament elections. Le Pen argues that the return of national sovereignty is necessary because Europe has proven to be ‘anti-democratic’. EU Observer; The Province; EuroNews; Europolitics; Telegraph

19

Oct

Europe Decides Weekly – 18 October

Tags: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party, Frederik Reinfeldt, Herman Van Rompuy, Jean-Claude Juncker, José Manuel Barroso, Marine Le Pen

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Top stories: 12-18 October 2013

Why Eurosceptics could win big in 2014: On 13 October Marine Le Pen and her right-wing National Front (FN) won a convincing victory in a local election in Brignoles. The vote came shortly after a poll on European Parliament election voting intentions, commissioned by Le Nouvel Observateur, had the FN on top with 24% of the vote. With anti-euro and –EU parties in the UK and Germany riding high, Eurosceptics could make an historic leap forward in next May’s polls. Business Week; Left Foot Forward; Financial Times; Independent, BBC News; Telegraph; Financial Times; Business Week; New York Times; EurActiv; BBC News; The Guardian; Irish Times

ALDE Party candidate for Commission President to be announced 1 February: The Alliance for Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Party will announce its candidate for President of the European Commission at a special electoral Congress in Brussels on 1 February 2014. Candidates shall be formally nominated by at least two member parties from more than one member state or by 20% of ALDE Party Congress voting delegates by 20 December. ALDE

11

Oct

Europe Decides Weekly – 11 October

Tags: Angela Merkel, European People's Party, European People's Party Group, Herman Van Rompuy, Joseph Daul, Martin Schulz, Party of European Socialists, Socialists & Democrats Group, Wilfried Martens

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Top stories: 5-11 October 2013

EPP founding father Wilfried Martens dies: The former Belgian prime minister and President of the European People’s Party, Wilfried Martens, passed away during the night of 9 October. He was 77 years old. Martens had handed over his duties as EPP leader to Joseph Daul, EPP Group chair, on 8 October, due to his deteriorating health. He will receive a state funeral on Saturday 19 October in the Saint Bavo cathedral in Ghent. The Parliament.com; EU Business; New Europe; EurActiv; European Voice; EPP; ALDE Group; ALDE; PES; European Greens; AECR; Statement by Herman Van Rompuy

Socialists & Democrats endorse Schulz’s application as candidate for Commission presidency: On 9 October the S&D Group endorsed the application of European Parliament president Martin Schulz to be the Party of European Socialists’ candidate to be European Commission president. Schulz has been nominated by his German party, the SPD, and backed by the French Socialist Party and the S&D group. S&D; Europolitics

Polls in France suggest victory for far right: France’s National Front party has come out top in a poll of how French voters intend to cast their ballot in next year’s EU elections. The magazine that carried out the survey, Le Nouvel Observateur, remarks that the poll is “of course not a prediction. But it describes a new reality in French political life.” EU Observer; EurActiv; Telegraph; The Corner; Euronews; The Guardian

04

Oct

Europe Decides Weekly – 4 October

Tags: Alexis Tsipras, David Cameron, Franco Frattini, GUE/NGL, Martin Schulz, Nato, Party of European Socialists, Party of the European Left

Comments: No

Top stories: 28 September to 4 October 2013

PES opens nominations for ‘Common Candidate’ selection for next year’s European elections: On 1 October the Party of European Socialists (PES) officially opened the process to accept nominations for the position of candidate for Commission President, ahead of the European elections. The President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, is the clear favourite. The nomination period will be open until 31 October. PES; Europolitics; Euractiv

Frattini puts himself forward for Nato chief post: Franco Frattini, a former Italian foreign minister, has said he is a candidate to be the next Nato chief. In a Le Monde interview, Frattini said his experience dealing with security issues when he was EU commissioner, as well as the fact that he comes from a Mediterranean region country, make him a leading candidate for the job. EUObserver

28

Sep

Europe Decides Weekly – 27 September 2013

Tags: Angela Merkel

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Top stories: 21-27 September 2013

Merkel triumphs as German Liberals fall: The German elections was a victory for Angela Merkel who scored just over 41% of the vote, a fall in support for the Social Democrats (SDP) securing 26% of the vote, a defeat for the FDP party with less than 5% of the vote and a debacle for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) with 4.7% of the votes. Merkel was still a few votes short of an absolute majority leaving her needing a coalition partner to govern. Reuters; EurActiv; EUObserver; New Europe

Merkel’s potential coalition partners drag their feet: The Social Democrats are holding an internal meeting on Friday evening (27 September) to decide whether to put the potential grand coalition to a vote of all their 472,000 members. According to the German constitution, the only clear deadline is 22 October, when the new Bundestag is set to have its inaugural meeting. EUObserver; EurActiv
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20

Sep

Europe Decides Weekly – 20 September 2013

Tags: Angela Merkel, European People's Party, Party of European Socialists, Silvio Berlusconi

Comments: No

Top stories: 14-20 September 2013

MyVote2014 initiative aims to support the 2014 elections: MyVote2014, the first ever “voting calculator” was launched today in Brussels. The software is an initiative of VoteWatch Europe in partnership with the European Youth Forum/League of young voters, and will reveal to the user which MEPs and EU political parties match his or her political preferences. MyVote2014.eu; New Europe; EurActiv

Germans head to the polls in close election: According to the latest poll published by the public TV station ZDF, Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats and her Liberal coalition partner are only one percent ahead of the Social Democrats, Greens and the leftist Die Linke party. The survey places Merkel’s coalition at 45.5 percent, while the opposition taken altogether would get 44.5 percent. EU Observer
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13

Sep

Europe Decides Weekly – 13 September 2013

Tags: European Conservatives and Reformists Group, José Manuel Barroso, Martin Callanan, Opinion polls

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Top stories: 7-13 September 2013

European Parliament launches ‘This time it’s different’ campaign: the ACT.REACT.IMPACT campaign launched by the EP on Tuesday will last a year, until the new Commission takes office in November 2014. The campaign aims to explain Parliament’s powers, focussing on five themes: the economy, quality of life, money, jobs and Europe in the world. The campaign includes social media, videos, information seminars, conferences and debates, and will cost €16 million. Europolitics; EurActiv; Euobserver; New Europe; EU Reporter

Barroso delivers State of the Union 2013 address in Strasbourg: In his speech, Barroso stated that the very fact the European bloc got through the financial crisis is a major achievement. In a speech that made several references to Europe’s bloody past, he also warned of the dangers of reversing EU integration. With just a few months to go before the EU institutions finish the current legislative period ahead of the EU elections, Barroso promised to table proposals on the social dimension of Europe, on industrial policy, as well as legislation on how to punish member states that violate the EU’s democratic norms. EurActiv; Euobserver. Europa.eu; Euractiv; Europolitics
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06

Sep

Europe Decides Weekly – 6 September 2013

Tags: European Green Party, Herman Van Rompuy, Opinion polls, Viviane Reding

Comments: No

Top stories: 1-6 September 2013

Voters want European parties to name candidates for Commission President: A majority of EU citizens would be more inclined to vote in the May 2014 European elections if political families named their candidates for the next Commission President, says a new Eurobarometer survey, published on 6 September. European Parliament

Seizing the big day in 2014, a speech by Viviane Reding: On 3 September, Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding gave a speech at the Union of European Federalists (UEF) Summer Reception in Brussels. According to her, the format of the 2014 European elections is a unique opportunity to give an answer to the two in three Europeans who currently think their voice does not count in the EU. She also called for Herman Van Rompuy to be appointed as a mediator following next year’s EU elections to try to form a Parliament coalition that will back the next president of the European Commission. Europa.eu; Euractiv; Europolitics
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