New European Parliament to Elect European Commission President on 18th July

The new European Parliament is set to elect the European Commission President on 18th July, according to sources cited by Politico.

This comes as voting for the new composition of the European Parliament is currently underway.

The tentative date for the election of the head of the EU’s executive branch was disclosed by the European Parliament’s Secretary General, Alessandro Chiocchetti, during a meeting with the permanent representatives of the EU member states on Friday.

While the final decision is yet to be made, the 18th July date is considered the most likely, occurring two days after the European Parliament elects its own president.

Discussions have been ongoing in recent weeks regarding whether the European Parliament should conduct the vote for the European Commission President at its first session in July or wait until the next official meeting in September.

To secure the position, a candidate must first gain the support of a qualified majority of EU leaders. Subsequently, they must win the votes of at least 361 out of the 720 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).

EU leaders are expected to decide on their preferred candidate during the European Council meeting scheduled for 27-28 June. Following this, discussions will move to the European Parliament’s political groups, concluding by 11 July under this timeline.

Current European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen may face challenges in securing a second term, as the new composition of the European Parliament might be less favourable to her.

Despite this potential obstacle, she remains the frontrunner, being the lead candidate of the European People’s Party (EPP), which is projected to win the majority of seats in the European Parliament.