EU Leaders Nominate Lagarde for ECB President: Summit Update
European Union leaders had failed to reach a decision on a new President during almost 20 hours of talks on Sunday and Monday.
(Bloomberg) -- European Union leaders are back in Brussels for another crack at choosing a new commission president after failing to reach a decision during almost 20 hours of talks on Sunday and Monday.
The package of appointments also includes the head of the EU parliament, the foreign policy chief and the president of the leaders’ council.
Key Developments:
- IMF Chief Christine Lagarde chosen for European Central Bank president
- Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen chosen for the commission presidency
- Spain’s Josep Borrell chosen for the foreign-policy chief position
Leaders Chose Lagarde, Von Der Leyen for Jobs (7:12 p.m.)
Leaders came to an agreement on the jobs package, according to a tweet by Luxembourg’s Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel. Choices include:
- European Commission President: Ursula von der Leyen
- European Council President: Charles Michel
- EU Foreign-Policy Chief: Josep Borrell
- European Central Bank: Christine Lagarde
Weber Quits (6:48 p.m.)
Manfred Weber was officially the center-right EPP’s pick for the commission post for the past several months and opposition to his candidacy was one of the major sticking points in this negotiation.
He withdrew his claim to the commission presidency this afternoon, his spokesman said in a tweet, removing another obstacle to the deal that EU leaders are trying to close in Brussels right now.
Merkel Phones Home to Consult Coalition Partners (6:10 p.m.)
Leaders have taken a break from summit talks so that Angela Merkel can speak to her coalition partners, the SPD, EU officials said.
The SPD’s European family, the Socialists, were close to scoring a big win yesterday when Frans Timmermans was nearing the commission presidency post. The outcome is looking a lot less favorable for them with the current package that would put center-right candidate Ursula von der Leyen in the top job.
Socialist Fajon Says Opposed to von der Leyen (5:49 p.m.)
Tanja Fajon, a Socialist member of the European Parliament from Slovenia, says most of the group’s leaders in the assembly expressed “disappointment” with and opposition to the possibility of an EU summit deal in which German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen would become European Commission president.
Fajon, speaking to Bloomberg News in Strasbourg, France, after emerging from a meeting of the Socialist group’s leaders, declined to speculate about the position that the group as a whole -- the second biggest in the EU Parliament -- would take on the matter. The Socialist members are due to meet at 6:30 p.m. in Strasbourg.
European Council Closes in on Jobs Package (5:40 p.m.)
Leaders are closing in on a deal, with German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen still at the top of the ticket, according to two officials with knowledge of the talks. Here’s how the latest iteration of the jobs package breaks down:
- European Commission President: Ursula von der Leyen
- European Council President: Charles Michel
- EU Foreign-Policy Chief: Josep Borrell
- European Central Bank: Christine Lagarde
Eastern Members Back von der Leyen for Top Job (3:53 p.m.)
Hungary’s government spokesman said that after “defeating Weber,” the Visegrad-4, which includes Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, would support German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen for the top EU job.
Von der Leyen, Johnson’s Striking Similarities (3:48 p.m.)
As strange as it sounds, the potential next heads of the EU and U.K. have similar backgrounds, although it seems to have pushed them in opposite directions when it comes to their views on Europe. The fathers of Ursula von der Leyen, the latest person discussed for European Commission president, and Boris Johnson, favorite to become British prime minister next month, both held senior posts in the executive arm of the bloc.
Von der Leyen’s father, Ernst Albrecht, worked in Brussels from the late 1950s until 1970 (and she was born there) and rose to become commission director-general. Johnson’s father, Stanley, was a senior official in the commission’s environment department in the late 1970s before becoming a member of the European Parliament for five years.
The similarities don’t stop there. Both also have a large number of children. Seven in Von der Leyen’s case. Johnson hasn’t confirmed how many he’s got, but it’s reported to be at least five.
Stanishev, Borrell Mentioned for Top Posts (3:15 p.m.)
The latest thinking on the appointments package would see Socialists from Bulgaria and Spain get two of the top jobs, according to two officials. Sergei Stanishev is being talked of as the next president of the European Parliament, where he’s sat since 2014, and Josep Borrell, himself a former parliament president and until earlier this year Spanish foreign minister, would become the EU’s foreign-policy chief. These are the only tweaks so far to the full draft list we published at 12:59 p.m., the officials said.
Lagarde Being Touted for ECB President (12:59 p.m.)
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde is emerging as frontrunner to succeed Mario Draghi at the ECB, under the latest plan circulated to national delegations at the Brussels summit, according to several officials. The proposed split of top jobs is not a done deal yet and could well meet the fate of other proposed distributions circulated over the past three days. The draft plan is as follows:
- European Commission President: Ursula von der Leyen
- European Council President: Charles Michel
- EU Foreign-Policy Chief: Maros Sefcovic
- European Parliament President: split in two 2.5-year terms between Manfred Weber and Socialists
- European Central Bank: Christine Lagarde
- EU Industry-Economy Commissioner: Frans Timmermans
- EU Budget Commissioner: Nadia Calviño
Lithuanian Premier Floated for Top EU Job (12:39 p.m.)
Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaite is being floated by Germany as a new potential candidate for the job of European Commission president, according to two officials with knowledge of the talks. While she is likely to get the support of the Christian Democrats and eastern countries outside the political group, she may be problematic for some Liberals and Socialists because of her hard stance against Russia. If she’s chosen, the final package could still feature Socialist’s Frans Timmermans as foreign-policy chief or president of the European Parliament.
Salvini Makes His Presence Felt in Brussels (12:25 p.m.)
Italian deputy premier and populist strongman Matteo Salvini tried again to crash the EU top jobs talks in Brussels, undercutting the timid attempts at compromise by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
Speaking from Limbadi, a small village deep in the Southern region of Calabria, Salvini reiterated that Italy would oppose “any stitch-up that excludes all the others and has only the support of the French and Germans.”
Salvini has reason to raise his voice: The latest polls in Italy show his League party would get 38% of votes in a new election, within shooting distance being able to garner an absolute majority in Parliament without needing any allies.
Timmermans Throws His Chips in for EU Post (12:15 p.m.)
Frans Timmermans missed the deadline earlier today for taking up his seat in the new European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, signaling that he is betting on getting something in the package of other EU jobs being negotiated by government leaders in Brussels. Timmermans was elected to the EU Parliament in May at the top of the Dutch Socialists’ list.
Georgieva, von der Leyen Touted for Top Role (11:37)
Germany’s highly-regarded defense minister, Ursula von der Leyen, has been floated as a possible candidate for the presidency of the European Commission, while the group of countries opposing Timmermans’s bid are pushing for World Bank Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgieva, two officials familiar with the matter said.
Both options tick the gender box and they come from the center-right EPP party, but they are outside the universe of formal candidates, which would make it difficult for the other parties in the European Parliament and some leaders to accept them.
New names are in circulation and hopefully a consensus can be found today for the whole package, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told reporters. “Today we will find a solution,” he said.
Costa Says Leaders Too Tired to Close Deal Monday (11:10)
Leaders probably could have struck a deal on appointing Timmermans as European Commission president if they weren’t so tired at their summit Monday, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on his way into the summit.
“Yesterday we truly were a very short distance away from having an agreement,” he said, adding that Timmermans’s candidacy remained “surely’’ a possibility.
Merkel ‘Happy’ and Ready to Get ‘Creative’ (11:05 a.m.)
“We’re going to go to work with a renewed sense of creativity and I think everyone needs to understand that they need to move a little bit,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters ahead of the summit. “In that case there will certainly be a chance and I think we have the responsibility to achieve results. In this spirit I’ll get to work, happily and firmly.”
It’s unclear whether her cryptic comments about “creativity” and “the need to move” means that the Timmermans-centered package has been abandoned after yesterday’s reactions.
Draghi, Merkel Not Available for EU Posts (10:59 a.m.)
Outgoing ECB President Mario Draghi, who has been touted by the Italian government for a top EU job, told Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte he’s not interested. And so has Angela Merkel, who has also been repeatedly approached by EU leaders for a role in Brussels.
“These are two people that I esteem but two people who personally told me that they are not available,” Conte told reporters in Brussels ahead of the summit.
Merkel’s Allies Feel Betrayed (10:53 a.m.)
The European People’s Party decided against backing a Timmermans-centered package due to the back-room nature of the so-called Osaka Accord, two party officials said. Merkel, who’s seen as the unofficial leader of EU’s Christian Democrats, had previously told center-right leaders that the party line was to stick with Manfred Weber for the EU Commission presidency. This line was passed from leaders to their EU lawmakers.
When the line changed without many of them knowing, center-right leaders and lawmakers felt they had exposed themselves too much backing Weber (both during his campaign and after the EU elections) to switch allegiances, the party officials said.
From her side, Merkel told EPP leaders on Monday that she had Weber’s approval for proposing him for EU Parliament president and striking an agreement for another EU Commission president in Osaka.
Leaders Weighing ‘Various Scenarios,’ Bettel Says (10:42 a.m.)
Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said he’s had a lot of talks this morning and there are “various scenarios” at play. He also pointed to the chaotic performance by the center-right EPP, which up to this point hasn’t been able to agree on a strategy.
“The EPP had a bug yesterday,” Bettel said on his way into the summit. “I hope that they did a reboot over night and that they can work constructively today so that we can come to a solution.”
He also repeated a line Merkel said on Monday, that the council will have to work together for the next term, so they shouldn’t do anything that will disturb the institutional balance.
“This is about the next five years, not about the next six months,” Bettel said.
Visegrad insists Timmermans remains a ‘no go’ for them (10 a.m.)
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis tells reporters in Brussels that the nations making up the so-called V4 will not accept Frans Timmermans as European Commission president. Margrethe Vestager is a “first-class name,” he said, but insisted it’s not so much about names but about finding the person who understands their region and can push for the interests of his region. Timmermans “doesn’t understand our region” and is “a no go.”
How the EU Parliament Complicates Things (9 a.m.)
The main reason leaders want to reach a deal on the president of the EU Commission on Tuesday is that the decision is supposed to come in a package that includes other top jobs, including the president of the European Parliament. As per its own rules, the assembly is due to elect a chief in Strasbourg on Wednesday. If it goes ahead and picks its own head without coordinating with leaders, one piece of the puzzle will have been taken out of the equation.
The deadline for submissions of candidacies is at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, which makes it an unofficial deadline for EU leaders to find an agreement on the full package of top jobs.
One of the names discussed in the past among leaders for president of the assembly is German Green MEP Ska Keller. Her pick would be an acknowledgment of the gains that Greens made in May’s EU elections and would also tick at least one of the two top jobs that need to be filled by women candidates. However, in the latest package which was discussed yesterday, the job was allotted to center-right German lawmaker Manfred Weber.
Keller threw her hat into the ring anyway, and if talks between parties at the European Parliament break down today, a left-of-center alliance could still catapult her to the presidency without the backing of center right.
Merkel’s Allies Are Sticking to Their Guns (8 a.m.)
The center-right European People’s Party -- largest group at the European Parliament -- said one of its number should be president of the EU Commission, and it wants to lead the EU legislature too.
That stance is the biggest obstacle to the Timmermans-led package that EU leaders have been working on. Whatever the leaders agree has to be ratified by the parliament and without the EPP they would be operating with a wafer thin majority.
"Holding 2 positions out of many is not too much for election winner," EPP Vice Chair Siegfried Muresan said on Twitter last night.
--With assistance from Richard Bravo, Caroline Alexander, Ian Wishart, Gregory Viscusi, Marine Strauss, Milda Seputyte, Maria Tadeo, Slav Okov, Patrick Donahue, Viktoria Dendrinou, Jonathan Stearns, Lyubov Pronina, Jan Bratanic and Jasmina Kuzmanovic.
To contact the reporters on this story: Alexander Weber in Brussels at aweber45@bloomberg.net;Stephanie Bodoni in Brussels at sbodoni@bloomberg.net;Nikos Chrysoloras in Brussels at nchrysoloras@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Richard Bravo, Zoe Schneeweiss
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.