‘This is not democracy’: European parliament unites to condemn selection of new EU Commission president behind closed doors

The European parliament’s political groups have united to condemn the selection of the next European Commission president, branding the process an undemocratic stitch-up by national governments.

EU leaders chose Ursula von der Leyen as their pick to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as the leader of the European Union’s executive branch despite the fact she was not on the ballot paper as a candidate and has no manifesto.

The European Council effectively ignored the European parliament’s spitzenkandidat, or “lead candidate” system, which was supposed to inject an element of democracy into the selection of commission president – instead nominating the defence minister, who is largely unknown outside Germany.

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“I’m not going to congratulate the council. President Tusk, I cannot support how things were done and the lack of respect that you’ve shown to other institutions,” said Gonzalez Pons, spokesperson for the dominant centre-right EPP group in the parliament. The EPP’s criticism of the process is notable because Ms Von der Leyen, a member of Angela Merkel’s CDU party, is actually a member of the EPP.

Mr Pons continued: “The future of Europe can no longer be decided behind closed doors. The spizenkandidat process is not about one person or one name – the citizens of Europe want to elect the person who is governing Europe. This is not revolutionary, this is democracy.

“The council has the right to propose a candidate to lead the commission to lead the parliament. However, what the council doesn’t have the right to do is to ignore all the candidates that have been voted for by European citizens.” He said the approach of carving up other top jobs taken by EU leaders was “clearly against the treaties”.

“You were telling the parliament who it should nominate as president of our chamber! You are now at the point where you’re deciding who is in charge of the ECB [European Central Bank] as if there was one more political nomination. This is not democracy – you are supporting the Eurosceptics, even the nationalists. None of the presidents on the council would accept this being done in their countries. It would be taken to a constitutional court,” he said.

Iratxe García Perez, leader of the second largest group, the centre-left socialists, said EU leaders can’t “come here and just lay out the council position and say that we have to vote for it”.

“We believe that it should have been Frans Timmermans to lead the commission because he was the spizenkandidat who could have achieved a majority of votes in this parliament and also because of the democratic rules that we’ve established,” she added.

Dacian Ciolos, leader of the liberal Renew Europe group set up by Emmanuel Macron, called for a constitutional convention to overhaul the process.

“What we need first and foremost is to democratise the process of appointing leadership roles in the EU. We can discuss names, gender balance, geographic balance: but for as long as we don’t have a transparent, democratic process for selecting those who lead Europe, we will not have achieved satisfaction,” he told MEPs.

He said his group would propose “a conference with a sufficient duration, two years, two-and-a-half years” to democratise the electoral process in the EU “so that by the next elections we have a mechanism in place”.

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Experts assume that an air bomb of the WWII probably exploded at a depth of several metres as a result of the triggering of the chemical detonator. AFP/Getty 12/50 23 June 2019 People gather for a protest in Prague, Czech Republic. Protesters are on calling on Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis to step down over fraud allegations and subsidies paid to his former companies AP 13/50 22 June 2019 Policemen push back anti-coal activists after they entered the open-cast mine Garzweiler, western Germany. The activists tried to reach and occupy the massive open-cast lignite mine in a protest to demand action against global warming, now one of the hottest issues on the European political agenda AFP/Getty 14/50 21 June 2019 The silhouette of a girl performing yoga on the rocky crest of the Ancient Observatory Kokino on the occasion of fifth International Yoga Day, which is also the day of the summer solstice. The ancient astronomic observatory, located about 100 km northeast of Skopje, dates more than 4.000 years back in time. It is ranked by Nasa as the fourth ancient observatory in the world AFP/Getty 15/50 20 June 2019 Indian residents get water from a community well in Chennai after reservoirs for the city ran dry. The drought is the worst in living memory for the bustling capital of Tamil Nadu state, India's sixth largest city, that is getting less than two thirds of the 830 million litres of water it normally uses each day AFP/Getty 16/50 19 June 2019 Several new policemen, of Catalan regional Mossos d'Esquadra Police, throw their caps after their graduation ceremony in Mollet del Valles, Barcelona. A total of 804 new officers attended the ceremony EPA 17/50 18 June 2019 Rescuers carry out an injured man from an earthquake-damaged building in Yibin, in China's southwest Sichuan province. The toll from the strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake rose to 12 dead and 134 injured as rescuers pulled bodies and survivors from wrecked buildings AFP/Getty 18/50 17 June 2019 A protester wears a yellow raincoat to pay tribute to a man who died after falling from a scaffolding at the Pacific Place complex while protesting against the extradition bill. People have been demanding Hong Kong's leaders to step down and withdraw the bill Reuters 19/50 16 June 2019 A fan watches on at the ICC Cricket World Cup match between India and Pakistan at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester Action/Reuters 20/50 15 June 2019 Nearly 15,000 Dutch people gather in Valenciennes to support their women's football team playing against Cameroon at the city's Hainaut stadium AFP/Getty 21/50 14 June 2019 A worker attaches a US flag to a mast before fixing it along the side of a road with other Israeli flags in the settlement of Qela Bruchim in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. Israel's cabinet will meet in the Golan Heights to honour US President Donald Trump and vote on naming a settlement there after him, the prime minister's office announced AFP/Getty 22/50 13 June 2019 French President Emmanuel Macron walks past the coffins of the three National Society of Sea Rescue (SNSM) ocean rescue volunteers, who died in a storm last week after their boat capsized, during a ceremony in their tribute at Fort-Saint Nicolas in Les Sables d'Olonne, France AFP/Getty 23/50 12 June 2019 Police clash with protesters during a rally against a controversial extradition law proposal outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong. 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People took to the streets on Sunday to protest a proposed amendment to the extradition law that protesters fear would allow Hong Kong citizens to be unfairly extradited to China AP 27/50 8 June 2019 A participant dances while holding a large rainbow flag during the Athens Gay Pride. Thousands marched in the 15th annual Athens Pride parade that was dedicated to the memory of a LGBTI activist who died earlier this year after a violent attack. Greek capital's Syntagma square, the venue of violent anti-austerity protests during the peak of the financial crisis, was full of rainbow flags as well as body painting kiosks for the more than 7,000 participants AFP/Getty 28/50 7 June 2019 A man walks past a billboard showing members of the French women's World Cup football team on the side of a building on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris. The 2019 tournament starts this evening with the hosts playing South Korea Reuters 29/50 6 June 2019 Canadian's Army officer stands during the international ceremony on Juno Beach in Courseulles-sur-Mer, Normandy, northwestern France, as part of D-Day commemorations marking the 75th anniversary of the World War II Allied landings in Normandy AFP/Getty 30/50 5 June 2019 Queen Elizabeth II and US President Donald Trump at an event to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day, in Portsmouth Reuters 31/50 4 June 2019 Muslim worshippers gather to perform Eid al-Fitr prayers at the Martyrs Square of the capital Tripoli. Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid al-Fitr marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan AFP/Getty 32/50 3 June 2019 President Donald Trump reviews an honor guard during a ceremonial welcome in the garden of Buckingham Palace in London AP 33/50 2 June 2019 A cruise ship crashed into a dock and a tourist river boat on one of Venice’s busiest canals. Four people were injured in the smash, Venice port authorities reported. It happened on the Giudecca Canal – a major thoroughfare that leads to Saint Mark’s Square – on Sunday morning at 8.30am AFP/Getty 34/50 1 June 2019 Supporters arrive at Wanda Metropolitano stadium for the Champions League final between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in Madrid EPA 35/50 31 May 2019 A Palestinian girl cool off by water to beat the scorching heat, as others pray outside the Dome of the Rock at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem during the last Friday prayers of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan,31 May 2019. Israeli police Friday morning shot and killed a Palestinian young man following an alleged stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City. Muslims around the world celebrate the holy month of Ramadan by praying during the night time and abstaining from eating, drinking, and sexual acts daily between sunrise and sunset. Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and it is believed that the Koran's first verse was revealed during its last 10 nights. EPA 36/50 30 May 2019 Serena Williams in action during her second round match against Japan's Kurumi Nara. The 23-time grand slam winner went through to the next round 6-3, 6-2 Reuters 37/50 29 May 2019 Ken Wyatt is sworn in as Minister for Indigenous Australians by Australia's Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove in Canberra, Australia. Scott Morrison announced his new ministry on Sunday 26 May, following his victory in the May 18 Federal election. The new Cabinet features a record number of women with seven taking on senior roles, including Bridget McKenzie as the first female Agriculture Minister. Ken Wyatt is the first indigenous person to be appointed the Indigenous Affairs Minister Getty 38/50 28 May 2019 People look on as they examine the damaged remains of school in Dayton, Ohio, after powerful tornadoes ripped through the US state overnight, causing at least one fatality and widespread damage and power outages AFP/Getty 39/50 27 May 2019 President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend a State Banquet with Japanese Emperor Naruhito, second from right, and Empress Masako at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo AP 40/50 26 May 2019 Former Italian PM and leader of the right-wing party Forza Italia Silvio Berlusconi looks at photographers as he casts his vote at a polling station in Milan AFP/Getty 41/50 25 May 2019 A paramilitary soldier stands guard in front of closed shops during restrictions in downtown area of Srinagar EPA 42/50 24 May 2019 Pope Francis gestures as he participates alongside thousands of soccer-mad children in a project to promote the values of sport and soccer, at the Vatican Reuters 43/50 23 May 2019 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters celebrate their party's potential win as votes are counted for the Lok Sabha election in Bangalore, India. The Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, elections, began on 11 April and held for 542 of the 543 lower house seats. A party or alliance needs 272 seats to form a government. It was announced that Narendra Modi was to retain the position of Prime Minister along with the BJP EPA 44/50 22 May 2019 Palestinian children help their father sort through arugula produce before he heads to sell it at a market, in an impoverished area in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP/Getty 45/50 21 May 2019 Indonesia's Incumbent President from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) Joko Widodo takes a selfie with local residents after his victory speech following the announcement of the election results at a slum area in Jakarta. Joko Widodo was re-elected after beating his rival, retired General Prabowo Subianto EPA 46/50 20 May 2019 President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky holding an ancient Bulava (historical symbol of the state power) during his inauguration in the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev. Mr Zelensky with 73,22 percent of the votes beat out the current president Petro Poroshenko, who received 24,45 percent of the votes during the second tour of presidential elections in Ukraine which was held on 21 April Presidential Press Service/EPA 47/50 19 May 2019 Sudanese protesters gather for a sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum. Talks between Sudan's ruling military council and protesters are set to resume, army rulers announced, as Islamic movements rallied for the inclusion of sharia in the country's roadmap AFP/Getty 48/50 18 May 2019 James Hinchcliffe of Canada rolls his car after hitting the wall during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 IndyCar auto race in Indiana, US AP 49/50 17 May 2019 Taiwan became first state in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. Thousands of gay rights supporters gathered outside parliament in Taipei during the debate EPA 50/50 16 May 2019 Spectators watch as riders take the start of stage six of the 102nd Giro d'Italia, Tour of Italy, race, 238kms from Cassino to San Giovanni Rotondo AFP/Getty

But Donald Tusk, the European Council president, who looked uncomfortable sitting through the speeches in the parliament, defended the approach taken by the council.

“To some the parliament represents genuine European democracy because of its directly elected members, while to others it is the European Council because of the strong democratic legitimacy of the leaders. Such disputes make little sense as both institutions are democratic,” he told MEPs.

Despite the furore, it is yet to be seen whether MEPs – who technically have a veto on the appointment – will block the council’s choice. Philippe Lamberts, co-leader of the Green group, admonished his fellow MEPs for not standing up to the council, warning: “It’s easy to criticise the heads of state and government but I wanted to say to all of you in this house that if the parliament is emerging from this episode in a weaker position then it only has itself to blame.”

Under the spitzenkandidat system agreed by the parliament, each political group nominated a candidate, who stood on an identifiable manifesto, for commission president. The candidate from the winning group – or one who could command a majority across the parliament – would have become leader of he EU’s executive. However, European Union leaders refused to write the system into law and ignored it when the time came – carving up the top jobs at a three-day summit in Brussels.