Everything postponed until next week. At the first post-election European summit called to choose who will lead the new legislature, the leaders of the Twenty-Seven were unable to reach an agreement on the appointments. No formal decision was expected, but a general agreement on the scheme was expected, because the squad of proposed names for top jobs, i.e. on the highest institutional positions of the EU, was considered substantially solid. And instead everything ended with nothing done, waiting for a new summit scheduled for June 27-28, three days before the early elections in France and four days before Hungary takes over the rotating presidency. Time, therefore, is tight.
Michel: “There is no agreement tonight”
“We have the right direction but at this moment there is no agreement“, said the President of the European Council Charles Michel at the end of the leaders' dinner. “It is our duty to conclude by the end of the month,” he then reassured.
The outgoing president of the EU Council explained that the meeting was nevertheless useful to take stock after the European elections which gave the People's Party a majority.
Orban's criticisms and Tusk's doubts
Popular, socialists and liberals would have liked to confirm the majority of the previous legislature. As for the leaders, the intention was to confirm Ursula von der Leyen to the Commission and appoint the Portuguese socialist Antonio Costa in the Council, the Estonian Liberal Kaja kallas to the EU "Foreign Ministry". Confirmation is then expected Robert Metsol to the EU Parliament. Doubts have been expressed about the first three by various leaders even if von der Leyen's confirmation does not appear to be in question for the moment. “I don't see any voices that could question the name” of Ursula von der Leyen for a second mandate at the helm of the European Commission, said Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.
At this juncture, shortly before the start of the informal summit, the People's Party also asked to change the political color of the box in the Council mid-term, as happens for the European Chamber. A move that could make the road to an agreement more difficult but which should be read in the logic of the negotiations on the entire blue-starred executive, including the vice-presidencies.
“The will of European citizens was ignored today in Brussels. The result of the European elections is clear: the right-wing parties have strengthened, the left and the liberals have lost ground. The EPP (...) in the end allied itself with the socialists and liberals: today they made an agreement and divided the command posts of the EU", commented the Hungarian prime minister on Viktor Orban, while Hungary is about to inherit the rotating presidency of the EU Council.
The Polish Prime Minister is also worried Donald Tusk who expressed fears for possible future legal problems for Costa, whose head of cabinet has problems with justice in Portugal. There are those like the Slovak president Peter Pellegrini who seemed worried by Mrs. Kallas's overly anti-Russian tones.
Meloni's position
The most important, but not the most difficult, match concerns the confirmation of Ursula von der Leyen and many are wondering in this context what are the the intentions of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni who, despite excellent relations with the current President of the Commission, declared that he did not want to accept a "pre-packaged package of appointments".
In this context, although a substantial part of the EPP and its national leaders want to maintain an open dialogue with the Conservatives and Reformists, an agreement with the ECR is still indigestible for an important sector of that party. It is no coincidence that the popular Tusk immediately sided against the possibility of agreements with the ECR (of which the Italian Prime Minister is president) given that both in the European Council and in Parliament there would be no need for one, at least on paper. The Law and Justice party, now in opposition in Poland, is part of the ECR.
"It's not my job to convince Meloni, we already have a majority with the EPP, liberals, socialists and other small groups, my feeling is that it is already more than enough", Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (one of the two popular negotiators) had already underlined at lunchtime to those who he asked if there were other balances that needed to be taken into account. However, the votes of the Brothers of Italy could be useful because the confirmation of the deputies is mandatory and in this step there is the secret preference.
“Now we have to let things marinate,” commented the French president Emmanuel Macron adding that he believes the final agreement is "close". However, Macron stressed that the agreement may not arrive before the French elections (which will be held on 30 June and 7 July). “It's not our goal anyway,” he assured him anyway.
