Merkel: Voters elect next commission chief ‘in principle’

German Chancellor Angela Merkel made conciliatory gestures on the 22 May 2014 towards the European Parliament on the choice of the next commission president after EU elections in May 2014.

In an interview with Passauer Neue Presse, Merkel said that voters in the EU elections could bring their contribution to furthering the European project.

This represents a slight change in Mrs. Merkel's stance. The German chancellor was never a fan of the idea that one of the six top candidates put forward by the main political parties in the European Parliament would become commission president after the EU vote.

The chancellor has in the past noted that the treaty only says that EU leaders must take the results of the election into account when making a nomination for the post, and that there is "no automaticity" between top candidates and the election result.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: The European Parliament’s election of the President of the European Commission http://www.europeansources.info/record/the-european-parliaments-election-of-the-president-of-the-european-commission/

ESO: Background information: European elections 2014: Different this time? http://www.europeansources.info/record/european-elections-2014-different-this-time/

ESO: Background information: European Parliament: Election, May 2014 http://www.europeansources.info/record/european-parliament-election-may-2014/

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