Spitzenkandidat

09.07.2019 EU Politics

EU top jobs – were we just lucky in 2014?

In 2014 the race to become President of the European Commission – using the new Spitzenkandidat process – was a two-horse race, and months ahead everyone knew who would likely win – Jean-Claude Juncker (EPP). Martin Schulz (PES) put in energy and

01.07.2019 EU Politics

The EU top jobs merry-go-round – over to you, European Parliament?

So the Heads of State and Government put in an all-nighter at the European Council in Brussels. And this morning at the time of writing there is still no consensus as to who will get any of the EU’s top

03.09.2018 EU Politics

Candidates for Commission President 2019 (Spitzenkandidaten)

Prior to the 2014 European Parliament elections I examined all the runners and riders for President of the European Commission and other EU top jobs (2014 posts on President of the Commission: EPP, PES, Others | President of the European

09.11.2015 EU Politics

Enough of your indignant anger, Schulz. Step away.

I listened to a speech by President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, in Berlin this morning at the Soul for Europe conference. It was typical Schulz, full of bottled up indignation and frustration, railing at national solutions to transnational

09.06.2014 EU Politics

Reinfeldt, Merkel, Cameron and Rutte in a boat – a roundup

So embattled Swedish PM Reinfeldt invited Merkel, Cameron and Rutte to Harpsund and took them out in a small rowing boat (news summary here), and let photographers take pictures of this. Here’s the original: The Junckermonster – my own effort

01.06.2014 EU Politics

Democratising the EU in post democratic times

The title of this blog entry is intentionally contradictory. Yet it encompasses the central challenge the European Union in facing. To start, what are we supposed to do about democracy in the European Union, viewing democracy in the classical post-World

15.05.2014 EU Politics

Why the Spitzenkandidat process is the best thing to happen to EU-level representative democracy for years

Let’s get the caveats out of the way first. I know the way the parties selected their Commission President candidates was imperfect. I know that none of the candidates has really shone. I know this process has not been dealt with with

21.04.2014 EU Politics

The parties have their Commission President candidates. TV channels, it’s over to you: 15th May debate on prime time TV please.

I write this blog entry as a convinced EU democrat. By that I mean that, faced with the options about how to solve the many problems the EU currently faces, actually trying to make democracy work at EU level is

09.04.2014 EU Politics

At least 4 televised debates between Schulz and Juncker, more to come? (update: now 7!)

One of the supposed advantages of the European Commission top candidate / Spitzenkandidat process is that it gives some personality to the European Parliament election campaigns for the first time. I am hence very happy to see that televised debates