The European Parliament approved on Tuesday proposals to bolster the democratic selection of the European Commission President after the 2024 elections.
Traditionally, the selection of the President of the European Commission occurs in the aftermath of European elections, where a distribution of key European roles is based on the weight given by voters to each pan-European political family.
"Backroom deals" in the European Council must end, insisted the elected MEPs, with 365 voting in favour, with 178 against and 71 abstentions for the proposal.
The process should rather depend on securing a majority in Parliament, in line with the Lisbon Treaty, MEPs stated.
EU lawmakers are demanding a binding agreement between the Parliament and the European Council which ensures that European political parties and parliamentary groups begin negotiations on a common candidate immediately after the vote, and before the European Council makes a proposal.
"Voters need clarity on how their vote will affect the choice of the people and policies of the EU. Unlike in 2019, we must not make promises we cannot keep," stated MEP Sven Simon (EPP - Germany). "The lead candidate process needs to become credible again. Whoever is elected President of the newly formed Commission requires a clear mandate from voters and a majority in Parliament."
The lead candidate, or Spitzenkandidat, from the party with the most parliamentary seats should lead the negotiation process in the first round.
However, EU Member States have repeatedly shown little enthusiasm for this system, which was also dismissed in 2019 to select Ursula von der Leyen, who was later confirmed by the Parliament by a margin of just nine votes.
Additionally, the idea of forming transnational lists, also unpopular among right-wing nationalists, failed to gain a majority in the Parliament on Tuesday.
