All posts tagged European People’s Party

Towards an Energy Union

This week the European Commission launched the much-awaited Energy Union package.

The Commission Vice-President for Energy Union, Maroš Šefčovič, said it was “the most ambitious European energy project since the Coal and Steel Community. A project that will integrate our 28 European energy markets into one Energy Union, make Europe less energy dependent and give the predictability that investors so badly need to create jobs and growth.”

The launch of the Energy Union package is, however, merely the start of an intense period of policy-making and legislative activity in the field of energy and climate action – a period of change with implications for nearly every sector of Europe’s economy.

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This is the last Europe Decides Weekly.

We would like to thank you for reading and invite you to continue to follow Europe Decides via the website, and on Twitter (@europedecides).

Read more in Europe Decides Weekly, 31 October 2014

Top stories: 25-31 October 2014

  • New Commission prepares to take over with smaller private offices and new spokesperson service: The new European Commission, under its President, Jean-Claude Juncker, takes office on Saturday. Under structural changes, the spokesperson’s service will have around 15 members, while commissioners will be expected to have more direct interaction with the media. Commissioners will no longer have spokespeople but communications officers, and they will also have smaller private officers of just six members (with vice-presidents having seven cabinet members and Frans Timmermans, the First Vice-President, eight). European Voice; Europolitics
  • Changes to Council voting rules about to be phased in: New decision-making rules in the Council of the European Union will take effect on 1 November. The rules, introduced in the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, will alter the balance of voting power between member states, attaching greater importance to the population size of countries. A qualified majority will now have to consist of at least 55% of the member states with votes representing 65% of the EU population. A blocking minority will have to comprise at least four member states. The current rules can still be applied, at the request of a member state, until 2017. European Voice
  • Brussels warns David Cameron over €2.1bn bill payment: The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has said that the UK Treasury will not pay an extra €2.1bn contribution to the EU’s budget on 1 December, saying that he will challenge the decision “in every possible way”. Criteria to calculate member state contributions to the EU budget are based on countries’ economic performances and have been recently modified. The European Commissioner for Financial Programming and the Budget, Jacek Dominik, said that British representatives did not raise “any concern” during the negotiations to set up the new calculation method, and that the Commission was simply applying the agreed formula. Financial Times; European Voice; EurActiv; BBC News

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Read more in Europe Decides Weekly, 5 September 2014

Top stories: 30 August to 5 September 2014

  • Tusk and Mogherini appointed to EU’s top jobs: The European Council made two senior appointments at a summit on Saturday, electing Poland’s Prime Minster, Donald Tusk, as the next President of the European Council, and appointing Italy’s Foreign Minister, Federica Mogherini, as Commission Vice-President and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Tusk received the unanimous backing of his fellow leaders while Mogherini was backed by all except the Lithuanian President, Dalia Grybauskaite, who abstained. European Voice; EurActiv; Inet Post; EUObserver; New York Times; New Europe; SBS; Polskie Radio; wn.com; Newzulu; Bloomberg
  • Juncker names Commission team: Jean-Claude Juncker has interviewed all nominees for positions in the European Commission as he continues to prepare his College. The final list of nominees, which comprises 14 members of the European People’s Party (including Juncker), eight from the Party of European Socialists, five Liberals and a Conservative, must be agreed by the Council. Juncker will then announce the distribution of portfolios and the way he intends to organise the work of the next European Commission. This announcement is expected early next week. All candidates will then go through hearings in the European Parliament, before a final vote on the entire Commission. EurActiv; EUObserver; New Europe
  • Juncker meets Parliament’s gender balance target: Jean-Claude Juncker’s list of nominees for the Commission includes nine women – the same number as were appointed to the Barroso II Commission in 2010. Four of the women come from the Liberals, with three from the EPP and two Socialists. The Socialists, Greens and Liberals in the European Parliament had threatened to veto the College unless the gender balance matched that of the current team, although it falls short of the ‘ten or more’ women demanded by the current female commissioners. Two countries switched nominees this week from men to women: Romania named Corina Crețu, a Social Democrat and vice-president of the European Parliament, to replace Dacian Cioloș, while Poland nominated Elżbieta Bieńkowska, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister, to replace Radosław Sikorski, the Foreign Minister, after he failed in his bid to be made High Representative. New Europe; EurActiv; Europe Decides Twitter

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This weekend, the European Council will meet again to decide on the holders of the EU’s top jobs.

Here’s our five-point guide to Saturday’s meeting and what it means – and have your say on one of the key issues of the summer by voting in our poll.

1. Time for action

hvr squareAfter the failure to agree on the top jobs at the last summit in July, European Union leaders are under pressure to reach an accord. The European Council is increasingly gaining a reputation as an institution that takes too long to decide anything, and whose decisions are often ‘fudges’.

Saturday is the crunch moment: if EU leaders fail to conclude a ‘package’ of appointments, it will put paid to any remote hopes of appointing the Commission on time. More importantly in the long term, it will increase popular and global perceptions of the EU as a sclerotic organisation. Herman Van Rompuy (pictured left), the President of the European Council, was criticised by EU leaders and many analysts for not preparing a watertight deal before July’s summit (although he was not helped by some prime ministers). The President will not want another failure.

The decisions are not easy: there are significant political, institutional and personal headaches for the 28 leaders. But the leaders are there to lead, and to decide. It’s time to act. Read more

9157497455_724ede816a_h - UPDATEDA big week, and a careful balancing act

This time next week, Angela Merkel will be celebrating her sixtieth birthday – and short of anything better to cheer, the rest of the European Council will probably be celebrating the end of the gruelling quinquennial EU top jobs race.

Tuesday (15 July) sees the election of the new President of the European Commission. Jean-Claude Juncker does not quite have his feet under the desk yet, but the ‘grand coalition’ that held for Martin Schulz’s election as President of the European Parliament is expected to hold and see Juncker made President-elect.

And then, on Wednesday, the rest of the pieces of the top jobs jigsaw are expected to be put into place.

The European Council, denied a backroom deal over the Commission presidency, can (more or less) get back to old ways with its selection of a new President of the European Council and a new High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (although the choice for the latter position is one for leaders to take with the President-elect). A new permanent president for the Eurogroup (finance ministers of eurozone countries) is also expected to be named. Read more

Read more in Europe Decides Weekly, 4 July 2014

Top stories: 28 June to 4 July 2014

  • Schulz elected Parliament President in first test of ‘grand coalition’: Martin Schulz has been elected for a second time as President of the European Parliament. Schulz, who recently returned to lead the Socialists & Democrats group, won 409 out of 612 valid votes, winning in the first ballot. Of the other candidates – who participated in a pre-election debate that Schulz did not attend – British Conservative Sajjad Karim (ECR Group) took 101 votes, with Spanish far-left candidate Pablo Iglesias and Austrian Green Ulrike Lunacek taking 51 votes each. The vote was a successful first test of the grand coalition between the EPP, Socialists and Liberals, although Schulz faced criticism for benefitting from a ‘backroom deal’ having criticised such agreements during the European election campaign. Schulz keeps the presidency until 2017, when an EPP candidate – possibly France’s Alain Lamassoure – is thought likely to take over the position. Europa RAPID; S&D news; New Europe; Deutsche Welle; European Voice; EUObserver; Europolitics; EurActiv
  • Juncker vote in Parliament moved to 15 July as Cameron tries to patch up differences: The European Parliament has brought forward its vote to elect Jean-Claude Juncker as the new Commission president to 15 July, one day earlier than originally planned. This will give more time to EU leaders before they meet in Brussels on 16 July to decide on a package of other top EU jobs, including the presidency of the European Council. Juncker’s biggest opponent in the European Council, British Prime Minister David Cameron, called the President-designate last weekend to discuss reform and economic growth in Europe. Thanks to the ‘grand coalition’ agreement in the Parliament, Juncker is likely to be elected, but the Socialists have stated that their support is dependent on certain conditions, including an unbreakable commitment to promote investment, sustainable growth and decent, secure jobs, and a plan to tackle poverty and inequality. EUObserver; European Voice; Deutsche Welle; S&D news
  • Renzi steals the show as Greeks depart: Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi saw his presentation of the priorities of the Italian Presidency of the Council greeted by warm applause from MEPs. Renzi focused on growth and values in his speech. The Commission and Parliament praised the work of the outgoing Greek Presidency. Greek PM Antonis Samaras said that from January to June, Greece had concluded 67 legislative initiatives and achieved consensus on another 15, addressing critical policy areas such as the economic and banking union, unemployment, and competitiveness and growth. Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission President, said Greece “not only responded to crisis but also contributed constructively to the European agenda.” Europolitics; Italian Government news; Europarl news; European Voice; Europa RAPID

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Read more in Europe Decides Weekly, 27 June 2014

Top stories: 21-27 June 2014

  • Juncker nominated by European Council: The centre-right lead candidate in the European elections, Jean-Claude Juncker, has been overwhelmingly endorsed by the European Council to be the next President of the European Commission. After weeks of negotiations on the matter, the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, was joined only by Hungary in opposing Juncker. Cameron vowed to fight “until the end” to prevent the nomination but failed, stating that he would do the same again and questioning the decision given doubts among other EU leaders about Juncker’s candidacy. Cameron reiterated his view that the choice of Juncker would harm the prospects of the UK staying in the EU. Juncker now faces a vote in the European Parliament on 16 July, the same day as another summit that will discuss other EU top jobs. European Voice; EUObserver; Europolitics; EurActiv; Euronews; Bloomberg; Belfast Telegraph; BBC News; The Guardian
  • ‘Grand coalition’ agreed, Schulz to become Parliament President again: The European People’s Party, the Socialists and the Liberals have reached a deal for a pro-European majority in the European Parliament. The deal will support the appointment of key personnel in the European institutions, including Jean-Claude Juncker as Commission President. At a meeting in Paris last Sunday, centre-left leaders of several countries agreed to support Juncker but expect to get other jobs in return for their support, including the presidency of the European Parliament for Martin Schulz for the first half of the upcoming parliament. The Greens criticised the negotiations and argue that the Parliament should decide parliamentary positions. EurActiv; Europe Decides Twitter; EUObserver; EPP Group; Europolitics; Financial Times; S&D; Greens/EFA
  • Germany puts Oettinger forward for second term as EU commissioner: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has decided to nominate the current Energy Commissioner, Günther Oettinger, for a second term in the same office. Oettinger has repeatedly been at odds with the German government over the country’s energy transformation (Energiewende) and is criticised by Greens for supposedly not providing sufficient support for renewable sources of energy. While Oettinger’s nomination and his future policy area is not yet determined, the move is intended to ensure German control over the energy portfolio and was made possible as part of a broader deal with the German Social Democrats, under which Martin Schulz resumes his role as European Parliament President. European Voice; EurActiv; Europolitics

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Read more in Europe Decides Weekly, 20 June 2014

Top stories: 14-20 June 2014

  • Schulz elected to head Socialists for top jobs talks: The Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament have elected Martin Schulz as their new President. Schulz will lead the group in talks over the election of a new Commission President and stated that he foresees a “tandem” with the frontrunner from the European People’s Party, Jean-Claude Juncker. However, sources in Berlin told Der Spiegel that Schulz’s Social Democrats would not claim the Commission job in the face of opposition from Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Christian Democrats party, but would look to secure the presidency of the Parliament for Schulz with centre-right backing as part of an overall package. Schulz stepped down as Parliament President before the vote in the S&D Group, with Gianni Pittella taking over as acting President until the Parliament reconvenes on 1 July. Europolitics; Deutsche Welle; EUObserver; S&D news; PES news; The Parliament; EurActiv; Der Spiegel
  • Stubb to toe economic line as Katainen heads to Brussels: Alexander Stubb has been elected as the leader of Finland’s centre-right National Coalition Party and will become Finland’s prime minister, replacing Jyrki Katainen. Stubb will lead a coalition government that includes the Social Democrats but has pledged to maintain the core elements of the austerity programme of his predecessor. Meanwhile Katainen has been nominated to replace Olli Rehn in the European Commission. Rehn will become an MEP. A hearing for Katainen is set to be held before the summer recess. Bloomberg; Economic Times; EurActiv; EUObserver; European Voice; Europolitics
  • Flemish separatists snub ALDE as ECR becomes third-largest group: The New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) has chosen to join the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group in the European Parliament, rejecting an invitation from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group, led by Guy Verhofstadt, who was re-elected to his post this week. The N-VA’s decisionmakes the ECR the third-largest party in the European Parliament. It has 68 seats to ALDE’s 67. Both groups added further members this week as the formation of political factions continues. EUObserver; European Voice; De Standaard; EurActiv; New Europe; Europolitics

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Post updated later on Wednesday 11 June to account for news that Dacian Cioloș (Agriculture and Rural Development; Romania) may be re-nominated to the Commission.

With the choice of a President of the European Commission still up in the air, we are a long way off knowing the full team that will occupy the upper floors of the Berlaymont for the next five years.

Nevertheless, national governments are already putting forward their proposed nominees to sit in the new College. Here’s our look at the comings and goings in the Commission in 2014, and the potential candidates to take a seat in the new Commission.

If you have comments or suggestions, please include them in the comments box.

See our country-by-country guide to the potential nominees Read more

Read more in Europe Decides Weekly, 30 May 2014

Top stories: 24-30 May 2014

  • EPP is biggest loser but wins European elections: The centre-right European People’s Party has emerged as the biggest group in the European Parliament following the European elections. According to the latest projections, the EPP will have 213 seats in the new parliament, losing around 60 seats. The Socialists & Democrats will have the second biggest group with 190 seats, a slight drop on its previous total. The big winners of the night were a range of parties on the Eurosceptic and anti-system right and left, pushing the number of non-attached members over 100. It seems likely that many of these groups will affiliate to existing groups in the Parliament. At 43.1%, the overall election turnout was slightly higher than at the last elections in 2009. Although Western European countries such as France, Germany and Denmark had a higher voting turnout than in 2009, Eastern countries like Hungary and Slovenia actually showed a downward trend. Slovakia’s turnout was set at an all-time low of 13%. Europe Decides results page; EurActiv; EUObserver; ALDE news; Irish Times; Times of Malta; Focus news; Chicago Tribune; Europolitics; Slate; European Public Affairs
  • Juncker in pole position for presidency after nervous week: EPP lead candidate Jean-Claude Juncker is the frontrunner to become President of the European Commission. A meeting of parliamentary leaders on Tuesday morning gave Juncker the opportunity to build majorities in the Parliament and European Council that would back his bid, but the European Council, meeting on Tuesday evening, did not discuss names and gave its President, Herman Van Rompuy, a mandate to find a candidate that could command a double majority. Post-summit comments by Angela Merkel that Juncker was not the only capable candidate sparked a wave of criticism in Germany for ignoring the results of the election. However, on Friday afternoon she confirmed that she would back Juncker’s presidential bid. EUObserver; Greens-EFA news; Bloomberg; GUE/NGL news; New Europe; S&D news; EurActiv; BBC News; Parliament Magazine; Europolitics; Wall Street Journal; S&D news; Wort; Europa RAPID; New York Times; Reuters; European Voice; Policy Network; Economist
  • Poland nominates Sikorski to replace Ashton: Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, has put forward the country’s Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, to succeed Catherine Ashton as High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Sikorski would be a “natural candidate”, said Tusk, adding that Poland has gained significant influence in foreign policy and so the appointment “would be within the scope of our interests”. Sikorski has been Poland’s Foreign Minister since 2007 and was a leading figure in the Ukraine crisis earlier this year. EurActiv