On election of the European Commission president

On election of the European Commission president

Subject: IR

Sec: Int org

Context:

The newly constituted European Commission (EC), the executive arm of the European Union, elected Ursula von der Leyen, the EC’s first female President, for a second term. Ms. Von der Leyen, of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), won by a clear majority of 40 votes unlike the razor-thin nine vote margin she secured in 2019.

EC President chosen:

• The selection of the EC President entails a two-stage process in consonance with the results of the parliamentary polls.
• The candidate is initially proposed and elected by the European Council — comprising the leaders of the EU’s 27 member countries — and subsequently put to a secret ballot in parliament.
• Von der Leyen’s candidature was not unanimous.
• The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), the far-right caucus Ms. Meloni heads, had for a short time managed to muster the numbers to be counted the third largest group in the legislature.
• Italy, moreover, is one of the EU’s six founder members and the bloc’s third largest economy.

Vote in parliament:

• The ripples from Ms. Meloni’s abstention in the Council were felt across the board, giving momentary pause for Ms. Von der Leyen’s prospects for automatic reinstatement by the legislature.
• There were even murmurs of the Council calling for a possible second vote in case parliament rejected her appointment.
• A more potent threat facing EU centrists is the newly launched Eurosceptic and anti-immigrant Patriots for Europe group, which has overtaken the ECR and is now the third largest bloc in parliament.

European Commission

• The European Commission is the EU’s executive body.
• It represents the interests of the European Union as a whole (not the interests of individual countries).
• While the European Council has no formal legislative power, it is a strategic body that provides the union with general political directions and priorities, and acts as a collective presidency.
• The Commission operates as a cabinet government, with 28 members of the Commission One of the 28 is the Commission President proposed by the European Council and elected by the European Parliament.
• The Council then appoints the other 27 members of the Commission in agreement with the nominated President, and the 28 members as a single body is then subject to a vote of approval by the European.