Invitation Press Briefing - Next steps for the lead candidate

Invitation to a briefing on the letter and spirit of Article 17 of the Lisbon Treaty and the lead (Spitzen) candidate process, with Elmar Brok and Alain Lamassoure, two leading architects of the procedure and advocates of a more democratic European Union.

Since the beginning of the constitutional convention that resulted in the Lisbon Treaty, the European Parliament and the European People’s Party in particular have pushed for the further democratisation of the appointment and election procedure of the President of the European Commission. Whereas the Nice Treaty foresaw a proposal by the Member States by "common accord" for approval to the European Parliament, it was clear for many that Lisbon should mark a clear step in the democratisation of this process. What resulted was Article 17 TEU which calls for the proposal of a candidate of the European Council to the European Parliament "taking into account the elections to the European Parliament and after having held appropriate consultations, ... acting by a qualified majority".

Where the election of Jean-Claude Juncker marked a decisive step in the consolidation of the democratisation of this process, the outcome of the recent European elections is a new challenge in the evolution of a real form of parliamentary democracy in and for the EU. In order to shed light on the origins of this process and the meaning of Article 17 TEU in light of the current inter-institutional and political developments around the selection and election of the next Commission President, Elmar Brok and Alain Lamassoure will provide a first hand insight into what is at stake for the future democratisation of the EU.

SPEAKERS

• Elmar Brok MEP (EPP Group, Germany)

• Alain Lamassoure MEP (EPP Group, France)

DATE

Friday 14.06.2019 at 10:00

LOCATION

ASP 5H1, European Parliament, Brussels