EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy has received a mandate from the 28 EU leaders to start consultations in view of electing a new European Commission President.
The heads of state and government met informally on Tuesday to review the results of the European elections.
The next Commission President, who will succeed Jose Manuel Barroso, must have the support of both a qualified majority of EU leaders, and be able to command a large majority in European Parliament.
‘’We had a useful, first discussion,’’ Van Rompuy said at a press conference after the informal dinner.
‘’We discussed the results of the European elections. Of course the situation differs in every country, with a mix of continuity and change. Overall, voters sent a strong message, and this message was at the heart of our discussions tonight,’’ he added.
As set out in the Declaration 11 to the EU Lisbon Treaty on the election of the President of the European Commission, there must first be consultations between the European Council and the European Parliament.
‘’Leaders have given me a mandate to conduct these consultations on behalf of the European Council. I intend to be in touch with the presidents of the newly constituted political groups as soon as these groups are formed and their presidents elected,’’ Van Rompuy said.
Van Rompuy made it clear he would not embark on a collision course with the European Parliament. In a declaration of the Presidents of the political groups of the European Parliament, it is stated that the candidate of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), Jean Claude Juncker, will be the first to attempt to form the required majority, as this group won the elections.
The EPP is the largest group with 213 MEPs, followed by the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) with 191 and the liberals (ALDE) with 64.
The name of Juncker, a former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, was however not even mentioned by Van Rompuy in his statement, a clear indication that leaders keep all their options open.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that the EU Council is bound to come up with its own proposal for candidates under the Lisbon Treaty.
Under the Lisbon Treaty, EU leaders must ‘’take into account’’ the results of the European elections and designate their candidate after consultations.
"As a member of the EPP, I proposed Jean-Claude Juncker as President for the European Commission. I supported him. I have not forgotten this one day after the election. But still I'm bound by the European treaties," Merkel told a press conference.
Merkel said that EU leaders had discussed new priorities for the Commission during dinner which include jobs, growth, energy and climate and new candidates would have to have a track record of good labour market proposals, sound public finances and good climate policies.
British Prime Minister David Cameron is said to have openly opposed Juncker as Comission President, who he regards as an old-style European federalist, and countries like Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland and some in eastern Europe and the Baltics are sharing Britain's concerns.
French president François Hollande said that the surge of the extreme-right in France needed to be seen in a European contest. Marine Le Pen's National Front won the European elections in France, with 24.85% of the vote, followed by the centre-right UMP at 20.8% and the Socialist Party, with 13.98%.
If one-in-four voters in France, a founding member of the EU, votes for the extreme right, then we have a problem. But it is not only a problem for France, it is a problem for Europe,” Hollande said.