German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) agreed on Monday to back former Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker for candidate for the position of new European Commission president.
According to CDU general secretary Peter Tauber, the CDU unanimously decided to support Juncker in the running for the position of the Commission president in the upcoming EU elections, scheduled for May. As he told reporters: “(Mr. Juncker) is an outstanding European with whom we want to campaign together for a strong EPP in the European Parliament."
EPP conference
The European People's Party (EPP) is to organize a conference in Dublin, Ireland on 6-7 March, where the party’s official candidate for the European Commission president position will be decided.
According to German media reports, except from Juncker, the CDU considered nominating the International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde for Commission president. However, it eventually decided to back the former Luxembourg Prime Minister who led the eurozone group of finance ministers during a very difficult time amidst the crisis.
Other EPP candidates are Latvian Premier Valdis Dombrovskis and European Commissioner for the Internal Market Michel Barnier.
Parties' candidates
European parties are, for the first time, asked to select lead candidates for the presidency of the European Commission, which will run at the upcoming May elections.
The European Socialists have already selected Martin Schulz, currently president of the European Parliament, as their lead candidate.
