The German lawmaker has negotiated a minor hurdle in his bid for Europe's top job. But France still opposes his aim of becoming European Commission president.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/C. Stache
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German MEP Manfred Weber has been reelected as leader of the center-right European People's Party (EPP) bloc in the European Parliament.
The EPP said 156 of its 160 European parliamentarians meeting in Brussels Wednesday had returned Weber as leader of their group.
Four ballot papers were spoiled, said a EPP spokesman. The bloc is the largest in the European assembly with 179 seats despite losing 40 mandates following last month's European election.
Weber is also seeking to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the European Commission. He currently needs the support of at least two further parliamentary groups to muster the 376 votes required in the 751-seat Parliament.
The conservatives together with the center-left S&D bloc, the liberal ALDE and the Greens could muster 504 seats.
But, the S&D has already tapped as its nominee Dutch social democrat Franz Timmermans, one of the bloc's Brexit negotiators, who last month faced Weber in a televised debate.
And, the liberals could back Margrethe Vestager, who as European commissioner and regulator from Denmark has in the past taken on US internet giants.
Post-election wrangle
A package of four top EU appointments could emerge at a June 20-21 summit if the 28 EU leaders reach a consensus on procedures and nominees, which would also hinge on an EU parliamentary majority.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who has so far refused to back Weber, was visited on Monday by Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel as chair of Germany's Christian Democrats.
Kramp-Karrenbauer has publicly backed Weber's call for EU activities to be solely focused in Brussels instead of commuting to-and-fro to Strasbourg, the French city on the Rhine river near the border with Germany.
Candidates for European Commission president
Germany's Manfred Weber, the conservative candidate, is considered the front-runner in the race to lead the European Commission. DW takes a closer look at him, and his main rivals.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Seco
Manfred Weber (EPP)
The center-right European People's Party (EPP) — the largest faction in the European Parliament — has picked Manfred Weber, its German parliamentary party leader. He has the backing of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Though considered the front-runner, Weber is little known on the international stage, and his language skills are considered poor.
Image: Reuters/V. Kessler
Frans Timmermans (S&D)
Frans Timmermans, the European Commission's first vice president, will lead the campaign for the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats (S&D). Weber's main rival promises to bring the bloc closer to ordinary voters at a time when Britain's looming exit is one factor behind the nationalist movements across the EU.
Image: Reuters/F.Lenoir
Margrethe Vestager (ALDE)
Margrethe Vestager, 51, is one of seven lead candidates for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats. As the current EU commissioner for competition, the Danish MEP has taken on corporations like Apple, Amazon and Google parent Alphabet. It's also been said that she served as the inspiration for the main character in <i>Borgen</i>, a Danish series where a woman becomes Denmark's first female leader.
Image: Reuters/Y. Herman
Jan Zahradil (ECR)
The third-largest group in the EU Parliament, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), has just one candidate: Jan Zahradil, chairman of the Czech ECR delegation. Zahradil, 65, is affectionately known as "Forrest Gump" for cycling from Prague to Strasbourg for a session of the European Parliament and for once running 1,300 kilometers (about 800 miles) across the Czech Republic for charity.
Image: imago/Belga
Ska Keller (Greens/EFA)
The Greens/EFA is the seventh largest group in European Parliament, so the German is a long shot to become European Commission president. The Greens have proposed a job share, with two candidates serving for two-and-a-half years each. The most favorite to join Keller is Dutch lawmaker Bas Eickhout.
Image: European Green Party
Violeta Tomic and Nico Cue (GUE/NGL)
The EU's left-wing groups will be headed by Spanish trade unionist Nico Cue and Violeta Tomic (at left). Tomic is a deputy in Slovenia's National Assembly, best known as a TV presenter and actress. She entered into politics in 2014 and has been an advocate for LGBT rights and stronger citizens' rights in Europe. Cue grew up in Belgium after his family was forced to flee Franco's Soain.
Image: picture-alliance/ANP/M. van Hoom
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Eurosceptic bloc unlikely?
Far-right parties looking to use seat gains in the new European Parliament to forge a combined Eurosceptic bloc were dealt a double blow on Wednesday.
Reuters reported that both Poland's nationalist and Britain Brexit Party had both said they would not join such a grouping.
Poland's conservative Law and Justice (PiS) leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, objected to pro-Russian stances of Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, France's National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen, and the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
"This is something that we cannot accept under any circumstances," Kaczynski told Polish private Radio Wnet.
