Luxembourgish Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit expressed interest in becoming the Party of European Socialist lead candidate for the EU elections in June, acknowledging his name ‘is being circulated’.
The socialists started to address the selection of an EU lead candidate during the party congress in Málaga over the weekend, even though any possible steps towards awarding the top job will take place at the beginning of next year at a dedicated congress.
“The internal selection process is underway and I have heard that my name is being circulated,” Schmit told Luxemburger Wort. “If I were to be asked in the end, I would accept the job,” he said.
The lead candidate (spitzenkandidat) process allows European political parties to internally elect a leader for their EU election campaign, who becomes a candidate for the role of president of the European Commission.
According to MEP Marc Angel, vice-president of the EU Parliament, it is “normal that he is in the running for the head of the list”.
“Nicolas Schmit is very popular in the European trade union world and also in the social democratic movements, for which social issues are at the centre of concerns”, he told Luxembourger Wort.
Such a job would give Schmit a chance to get a top job at the EU level, as his party, LSAP, is no longer in government.
However, “there is a general orientation to look for a woman as a leader,” multiple sources from the PES confirmed to Euractiv.
Another name being circulated for the top job is MEP Katarina Barley, also vice-president of the European Parliament, who is already set to lead Germany’s SPD lists for the EU elections.
German MEP Terry Reintke, co-president of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, kickstarted the European Green’s lead candidate race by presenting her candidacy on 25 October, with more candidates expected by the end of November, Euractiv reported.
The full candidate list will be announced on 30 November.
As for the European Left, the party invited members in June to propose candidates. The party’s leadership will pick the candidate during a closed-door election process, who will be announced by the end of February.
The European People’s Party still needs to decide whether to put forward current Commission President Ursula von der Leyer as their EU lead candidate.
The nationalist-conservative ECR and far-right eurosceptic ID announced back in June they would not have lead candidates.
(Max Griera | Euractiv.com)
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