Juncker officially endorsed by the Parliament: he will make the first attempt at mustering majority

“Everyone agreed” (part from Farage): the EPP leader will be the first to try creating the new Commission. Schulz won’t attend the consultations with Heads of States or Government, substituted by Daul and Swoboda, Presidents of the EPP and S&D parliamentary groups

The European Parliament decided it would be Jean-Claude Juncker to make the first attempt at mustering majority at the Parliament in order to be elected the new Commission President. It took just 20 minutes to Conference of Presidents for ruling on this. “Everyone agreed,” said the EPP President Joseph Daul at the end of the Conference in Brussels. “Juncker will be the first to start the negotiations, still he need to bear in mind that without the support of the S&D he won’t get the majority he needs,” said Martin Schulz, who still is the official representative of the Parliment but won’t attend the informal dinner for Heads of States or Government.

In fact, it will be up to the Presidents of the EPP and S&D parliamentary groups, Joseph Daul and Hannes Swoboda, to represent the Parliament at the Justus Lipsius palace for the dinner. “Schulz is still a candidate” for the Commission Presidency, said Daul. This represents a victory for Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, who instited for the Parliament not to be represented by Schulz. In view of the concession, the Parliament hopes that the Council will take into account the decisions emerged from the Conference of Presidents. “The Council should respect our proposal,” said Schulz. The only one against the decision was the UKIP leader, Nigel Farage.