EU leaders discuss key employment policy objectives at meeting in Brussels
Leaders must discuss who should be the next presidents of the European Commission and the European Council, and who should be the head of foreign policy, but their decision appears to have already been made. (Photo: Shutterstock)
European Union leaders will debate policy goals for the next five years, from defense to the economy, and who should fill the EU’s top jobs at their meeting in Brussels on Monday.
The informal meeting will be the first since the European Parliament elections, which proved good for center-right and right-wing nationalists but humiliating for French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Leaders must discuss who should be the next presidents of the European Commission and the European Council, and who should be the head of foreign policy, but their decision appears to have already been made.
Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen is in a prime position to secure a second term as head of the EU executive, buoyed by gains for her centre-right European People’s Party.
Thirteen of the 27 EU leaders come from parties belonging to the EPP. With support from France and Germany, she would also get the qualified majority she needs to be nominated.
France had previously weighed alternatives to Von der Leyen, but now that Macron has called early parliamentary elections on June 30, the government now prefers stability in the EU.
Former Portuguese Prime Minister Alberto Costa will become the next president of the European Council, where the Socialist Presidents’ Summit will take place from December.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, a liberal, is then set to be appointed High Representative for Foreign Affairs, ensuring a balanced geographical and political distribution of jobs across the bloc.
Leaders will confirm their choices at an EU summit on June 27 and 28. Von der Leyen would still need the support of the European Parliament, which will vote in its first session from July 16.
The full Commission, made up of 27 members, including the head of foreign policy, also needs parliamentary support.
EU leaders are also expected to discuss the next five-year legislative cycle, focusing on common values, defense and economic competitiveness. They will confirm their guidelines for the “strategic agenda” at the end of June.
Leaders should soon receive a report from Mario Draghi, the former Italian prime minister and president of the European Central Bank, on boosting the EU’s economic prospects. In a speech on Friday, he said the bloc needs cheaper energy and a capital markets union to channel private savings into investment.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: June 17, 2024 | 9:22 am IST