Merkel & Macron lock horns over how to decide next president of EU Commission (VIDEO)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have expressed sharp differences of opinion on how to pick the next president of the EU executive, creating internal tension within the bloc ahead of elections.
Merkel backs the current system, known as the ‘Spitzenkandidaten process’, in which the European political party that can muster the most parliamentary support selects the president of the EU Commission.
Germany has the most MEPs of any EU state, giving it an edge over other bloc members when deciding who will serve as Commission president. Notably, the current system all but guarantees that the next Commission president will be Merkel ally Manfred Weber.
Also on rt.com Sick of human politicians? 25% of Europeans would prefer AI governmentMacron, however, sees things differently, and would prefer that heads of states negotiate over who occupies the Commission presidency.
“France doesn’t have as many [MEPs] as Germany in the EU parliament. And France does not have a federal model [like Germany], it’s more of a nation-state model, and they value more the European Council,” political analyst Pierre-Emmanuel Thomann told RT.
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