Monday

5th Jun 2023

Poland calls for job interviews for EU top appointments

Poland has made a bid to give smaller EU countries more power in the EU president selection process by calling for candidates to hold job interviews in front of the 27 EU leaders.

"It is proposed that the election of the future President of the European Council is preceded by a discussion of the Heads of State or Government of the Member States during which the candidates would present their vision of how their tasks would be conducted," Warsaw has said in a fresh position paper seen by EUobserver.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • The Polish model could see Belgium's Herman van Rompuy, a popular candidate, grilled by EU leaders (Photo: European Council)

The appointment of the new EU foreign relations chief should follow the same format, but with the 27 EU foreign ministers also brought in to the chamber.

The Polish proposal underlined that under the Lisbon Treaty the final decision is to be made by a qualified majority vote, in which every EU country has a say in proportion to the size of its population.

"The approval procedure should be as transparent and democratic as possible. This will enhance the consensus surrounding those candidates who are eventually chosen," it explained.

The ideas were circulated to EU capitals on Monday (9 November), amid expectations that the Swedish EU presidency will shortly call a summit to decide the two appointments and the make-up of the new EU commission.

Popular wisdom has it that the top jobs will be decided in a classic EU stitch-up between Germany, France and the UK, with each time any of the big leaders meet for a bilateral dinner prompting speculation that a secret deal is being made.

Smaller states such as the Benelux countries have already made their mark by calling for a modest, chairman-like EU president instead of an international big-hitter however, in a line of thinking publicly approved by Berlin.

EU officials, no matter how senior, are in theory loyal only to Brussels and the EU treaties.

But top appointments are a matter of national prestige, while individual politicians with deep roots in national administrations in practice co-operate more closely with former colleagues and channel information more readily to their old friends.

EU top jobs summit could drag on for days

A deal on the EU top jobs remains far from reach ahead of a special summit on Thursday that could require a follow-up meeting the next day. Meanwhile, Poland has changed its job interview proposals, and top women feel disappointed by the few female candidates in the running.

Franco-German deal will not decide EU top jobs, Sweden says

Consultations on filling the new top EU posts are only 'half-way' through, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said on Monday in Berlin, while warning that a Franco-German deal is not sufficient to get the names pinned down.

MEPs to urge block on Hungary taking EU presidency in 2024

"This will be the first time a member state that is under the Article 7 procedure will take over the rotating presidency of the council," French Green MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, the key lawmaker on Hungary, warned.

European Parliament scales back luxury MEP pension fund

The European Parliament's Bureau, a political body composed of the president and its vice-presidents, decided to slash payouts from the fund by 50 percent, freeze automatic indexations, and increase the pension age from 65 to 67.

Analysis

Final steps for EU's due diligence on supply chains law

Final negotiations on the EU due diligence law begin this week. But will this law make companies embed due diligence requirements in their internal processes or incentive them to outsource their obligations to third parties?

Latest News

  1. Final steps for EU's due diligence on supply chains law
  2. Top EU court rules Poland's court reforms 'infringe law'
  3. Sweden's far-right is most anti-Green Deal party in EU
  4. Strengthening recovery, resilience and democracy in regions, cities and villages
  5. Why Hungary cannot be permitted to hold EU presidency
  6. Subcontracting rules allow firms to bypass EU labour rights
  7. Asylum and SLAPP positions in focus This WEEK
  8. Spanish PM to delay EU presidency speech due to snap election

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us