All posts tagged Frederik Reinfeldt

19
Sep

Europe Decides Weekly – 19 September

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Read more in Europe Decides Weekly, 19 September 2014

Top stories: 13-19 September 2014

  • Scotland votes no to independence: Scottish voters rejected independence by a margin of ten percentage points in a referendum held on Thursday. Scotland’s First Minister and leader of the Yes campaign, Alex Salmond, conceded defeat early on Friday morning with the No campaign running out winners by 55 per cent to 45 per cent. Turnout was high, at 85 per cent, with just four of Scotland’s 32 council areas – including Dundee and the largest city, Glasgow – backing independence. The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, responded to the vote by declaring that more powers would be devolved to Scotland as part of a wider set of constitutional changes. The campaign ended with a flurry of activity from politicians, business leaders, and even Queen Elizabeth II, who urged Scots to “think very carefully about the future”. Reuters; Deutsche Welle; New Europe; EUobserver
  • MEPs express doubts about Commission restructuring: Several Members of the European Parliament have stated concerns about the new structure of the European Commission as announced by the President-elect, Jean-Claude Juncker, last week. Many MEPs, especially on the left, disagree with the plans to move pharmaceutical products from the Directorate-General for Health and Consumers (DG Sanco) to DG Enterprise, and food waste and biocides from DG Environment to DG Sanco. Others oppose the split energy competences between the Vice-President for Energy Union and the Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, and the plan to move copyright issues from DG Internal Market and Services to DG Connect. Another group of nearly 50 MEPs is calling for a vice-president for sustainable development to be appointed. European Voice; Europe Decides Twitter
  • Left wins Swedish election, PM steps down, nationalists make big gains: The Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, has resigned after his centre-right Moderate Party lost the parliamentary elections. The centre-left Social Democrats, led by Stefan Löfven, gained only one seat but emerged as the largest party and are expected to lead a new government with the Greens. However, the growth of the nationalist, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats – who went from 20 to 49 seats – means that Löfven may have to work with parties in the centre-right bloc that was led by Reinfeldt. EUObserver; Reuters; Telegraph; European Voice; New York Times; Guardian

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17
Sep

Sweden votes: pendulum swings back to left in hung parliament

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Stefan LofvenSweden’s Social Democrats have emerged as the largest party following parliamentary elections in Sweden, but are likely to have to form a minority administration.

Although the Social Democrats, led by Stefan Löfven (pictured right) gained only one seat, the governing centre-right Alliance lost more than 30 seats, mainly to the Sweden Democrats, an anti-immigration party, which more than doubled its number of representatives in parliament.

Following his party’s defeat, the Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, announced that he would stand down as PM and, in 2015, as leader of the Moderate Party, the biggest member of the four-party Alliance.

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14
Sep

Europe Decides Weekly – 12 September

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Read more in Europe Decides Weekly, 12 September 2014

Top stories: 6-12 September 2014

  • Commission portfolios revealed, VPs to lead teams: The President-elect of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, has revealed the new structure and portfolio assignments for his College. Juncker will be supported by seven vice presidents, five of whom will be responsible for guiding and coordinating smaller teams of commissioners within their broad policy fields. Frans Timmermans, the Dutch foreign minister, will be First Vice President and Juncker’s ‘right-hand man’. Commissioners will need the support of a VP to bring an initiative to the agenda of the Commission, with Timmermans having a powerful role filtering initiatives to assess whether they are necessary. Within their policy area, vice presidents may decide which commissioner represents the Commission towards other institutions. Several portfolios have been broken apart or merged. The commissioners-designate face hearings in the European Parliament from 29 September, with the vote on the College as a whole scheduled for the Parliament’s 20-23 October plenary session. European Voice; Europolitics; EurActiv; European Commission
  • Hill among nominees expecting challenge as Juncker appointments raise eyebrows: Jonathan Hill, the British nominee, was given the financial stability portfolio – a key issue for Britain. His decision is seen as a conciliatory gesture to David Cameron, but Glenis Willmott, leader of the group of British Labour MEPs, questioned the appointment, saying that Hill “cannot be Commissioner just for the City of London”. Other countries’ nominees were also given portfolios reflecting national priorities, such as France’s Pierre Moscovici (economic affairs), Greece’s Dimitris Avramopoulos (migration), and Romania’s Corina Creţu (Regional Policy). Spain’s Miguel Arias Cañete, who was appointed to the climate and energy portfolio, is likely to be questioned over his views on man-made climate change and links to oil companies, while Slovenia’s Alenka Bratušek (Vice President for the Energy Union), Malta’s Karmenu Vella (environment and fisheries) and Hungary’s Tibor Navracsics (education and culture) will face intense questioning. European Voice; Greens/EFA; eureporter
  • Kopacz takes reins in Poland: Poland’s ruling coalition has agreed to put forward Ewa Kopacz, the Speaker of the Parliament and a former health minister, to replace Donald Tusk as Prime Minister. The country’s current Foreign Minister, Radosław Sikorski, is likely to become the new speaker of the Polish Parliament. New Europe; EUObserver

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14
Jun

Europe Decides Weekly – 13 June

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Read more in Europe Decides Weekly, 13 June 2014

Top stories: 7-13 June 2014

  • Four EU leaders meet in Sweden – ‘policies before personalities’: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Dutch and British prime ministers, Mark Rutte and David Cameron respectively, joined the Swedish PM, Fredrik Reinfeldt, at his official residence near Stockholm to discuss the future direction of the European Union on Monday and Tuesday. In a concluding press conference, the leaders – who, with the exception of Angela Merkel, are thought to oppose to varying degrees the nomination of Jean-Claude Juncker to the European Commission presidency – stated that the priority for the EU must be to agree on its policy direction for the next five years before deciding on who will take the top jobs. Guardian; Reuters
  • Van Rompuy meets Parliament leaders: The President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy met the leaders of the main political groups in the European Parliament on 12 June to gauge their support for Jean-Claude Juncker to head the new Commission. Van Rompuy will report to the European Council on 26-27 June. The newly-elected President of the European People’s Party (EPP) Group, Manfred Weber, reasserted his support for Juncker and urged Van Rompuy to stick to the envisaged timetable for an appointment. Leaders of other groups, with the exception of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), also pledged their support for Juncker as the candidate of the leading party in the Parliament. European Voice; S&D news; EUObserver; EurActiv
  • Juncker sets out programme and pledges to resolve ‘British question’: Jean-Claude Juncker has put forward a five-point programme for the new Commission. The digital single market, including copyright and telecoms regulation and data protection, is the centerpiece, with a European Energy Union, a five-point plan on immigration and a stronger High Representative also in his plans. Juncker also vowed to work towards a ‘fair deal’ with Britain that “accepts the specificities of the UK in the EU, while allowing the eurozone to integrate further”. European Voice

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30
May

Five days on from the election: five reflections on the Commission presidency

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This blogpost, originally published at 12:55 on Friday 30 May, has been updated following remarks by the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, later on Friday afternoon.

That was the week that was: an odd few days where the European People’s Party won the European Parliament elections, but was also the biggest loser; and where Socialists in the Parliament backed the EPP lead candidate for the European Commission presidency, only for some centre-right leaders to apply the brakes in the European Council.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the EPP lead candidate, is still the frontrunner and the only person formally in the running. His chances have been boosted tanks to comments by the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, on Friday, that she is conducting negotiations on the basis that Juncker should be President.

However, it is clear that a number of heads of government would like to dump him in favour of someone else. The President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, has been charged with an exploratory mission to find the person – Juncker included – who can command the sufficient majority in the Parliament and European Council.

Meanwhile, five political groups in the European Parliament have backed Juncker to have a first go at building majorities in the same institutions – and if he fails, are likely to call for Martin Schulz, lead candidate of the second-placed Socialists, to have a go.

If those who want to block Juncker in the European Council succeed – and it is not a done deal yet for the former Luxembourg prime minister – an inter-institutional battle between the Parliament and European Council will be on the cards.

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01
Apr

50 days to go, 50 things to know about Europe’s year of change

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The countdown continues: at 08:00 CET on Wednesday 2 April, there are exactly 50 days to go to the opening of the polls for the European Parliament elections.

Here is our overview of where we stand and what you need to know about Europe’s year of change:

Top jobs | Country-by-country | PollWatch 2014 | The elections and beyond | Reading list

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10
Feb

100 days to go, 100 things to know about Europe’s year of change

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At 07:00 CET on Tuesday 11 February, there was exactly 100 days to go to the opening of the polls for the European Parliament elections.

As the countdown to the elections intensifies, here is our overview of where we stand:

Top jobs | European Parliament election candidates | European Parliament election opinion polls | Processes and procedures for the elections and beyond | Potential nominees to the European Commission | Online conversations | Also on Europe Decides

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15
Jan

Countdown to Dublin: who will be the EPP candidate?

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11449097146_83a4e8dd2b_hIn 50 days’ time, the European People’s Party will open its electoral congress in Dublin and select its common lead candidate for the European Parliament elections.

While the Socialists, Liberals, Greens and Left have all selected their lead candidates for the position of President of the European Commission (or at least have a selection process ongoing), the field for the EPP nomination is wide open. The EPP President, Joseph Daul, noted in December that there are “about six people who are interested” in the job.

So who are the contenders?

We have run the rule over the chances of a handful of potential centre-right candidates for the Commission presidency:

Jyrki Katainen – Prime Minister of Finland
Michel Barnier – European Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services
Enda Kenny – Prime Minister of Ireland
Jean-Claude Juncker – former prime minister of Luxembourg
Christine Lagarde – Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
Fredrik Reinfeldt – Prime Minister of Sweden
Viviane Reding – Vice President of the European Commission responsible for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship

[Note – 28 January 2014: Viviane Reding has stated that she will not participate in the contest, adding that there is ‘no room for two Luxembourgers in the race’ and expressing support for Jean-Claude Juncker.]

Other candidates may emerge too – Valdis Dombrovskis, who resigned as Latvia’s prime minister in November – has also been mentioned, as have Poland’s PM Donald Tusk (in spite of his clear statement that he will remain in Polish politics at least until the 2015 parliamentary elections) and Lithuania’s President, Dalia Grybauskaitė.

And in our poll, you said – by a small margin – that Jean-Claude Juncker would be picked as the EPP candidate.

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19
Oct

Europe Decides Weekly – 18 October

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Read more in Europe Decides Weekly, 18 October 2013

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

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22
Aug

Simon Hix: Why 2014 could be the first genuinely European elections

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Simon HixThe European Parliament elections in May 2014 may be the first genuinely ‘European’ elections.

This might seem an odd claim, given that the Parliament has been elected every five years since 1979.  Until now, though, ‘Europe’ has actually played a minor role in these contests.  As mid-term contests in national election cycles, European Parliament elections have been dominated by national politicians and parties rather than by European-level politicians and parties or the future direction of the European Union.

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