The EU’s center-right alliance is determined to defy French President Emmanuel Macron in the race to nominate the next EU Commission president, according to senior party officials.
European conservatives were enraged that Macron blocked their candidate, Manfred Weber, at last week’s summit in Brussels, and suspect he is seeking to undermine their role, even though they won the most seats in the next EU Parliament, the officials said.
The EU’s 28 national leaders are responsible for nominating the next head of the EU executive, but need to find a candidate who can win the backing of the parliament.
The result of last month’s EU election — which saw both the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the Socialists lose seats — means that at least three parties will be required to install the next president.
Deteriorating relations between France and Germany are raising the stakes for an appointment that will shape the bloc’s agenda for the next five years. The upshot is that the two sides are becoming increasingly entrenched ahead of an extra summit meeting set for Sunday.
That could lead to delays in naming other EU officials, including a successor to European Central Bank President Mario Draghi.
“So far we’ve only seen destructive proposals,” Weber said in an interview with European newspapers, including Spain’s El Pais. “We run the risk of entering a period of crisis management. I hope that no one wants to take that risk.”
French officials say they have no intention of putting forward their own candidate at this point because they are aware that it would only give the EPP a target.
The EPP officials said that they see Macron’s hardball tactics as part of a broader strategy to undermine their preeminence in European politics. His sarcastic comments of Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann were seen as further proof of their distrust.
Since taking power in 2017, Macron has seen his ambitions for tighter integration of the EU frustrated by opposition from mainly conservative governments in the north.
The EPP and its allies are wary of taking on responsibility for the financial liabilities racked up by member states in the south with weaker public finances. They have also been riled up by Macron’s personal style.
Germany’s Christian Democrats, the biggest group within the EPP, on Monday insisted that they are sticking with Weber.
However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week signaled that his bid might not have much of a future.
None of the three lead candidates for the job, known as Spitzenkandidaten, have a majority and Merkel said at the summit in Brussels that “at the moment I don’t see anything changing in this.”
A French official said that Macron’s stance is simply a reflection of the diminished power of the EPP following its election result.
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