Foreign powers are to blame for the success of the far-right in the elections to the European Parliament, Brexit won't be revisited, it’s too early to appoint top posts in the EU. Such statements have been made by European leaders in Brussels, where an extraordinary summit is taking place following the elections held this weekend. Presidents and prime ministers are doing their best to avoid the word "defeat", boasting a high turnout.
Our correspondent Anastasia Popova is now working in Brussels.
- Hello, Anastasia. What are they going to negotiate?
- They must elect the head of the European Central Bank, the head of the European Council, the stumbling block being the post of the head of the European Commission who enjoys the broadest powers. As a rule, this post was held by a candidate from a coalition of factions who gained an absolute majority. But this time both the populists and the Social Democrats failed, gaining fewer seats and, thus, losing the majority.
Consequently, they'll have to cut deals. Besides, their candidate, Manfred Weber, lacks political heft and experience. Today, for example, he was wearing a tie with Greek letters at the summit. Nevertheless, Merkel has to support this candidate because in Germany his party scored more votes in Bavaria than Merkel's party.
Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany: "Naturally, I support Manfred Weber, but not all of the coalition members share my view. I’m sure we can prove that we can make decisions as we must, if possible, make our proposal before the first Parliament meeting. In the end, we are faced with a constructive task, and we can largely determine the efficiency of the European Union".
But French President Emmanuel Macron is firmly against a German heading the European Commission. Although Macron came second in France, in the European parliament he allied with the liberal faction, which gained 1.5 times more seats than the previous time. So, they gained momentum. Macron discussed the situation with Angela Merkel and with the Spanish prime minister and also met with representatives from the Visegrad Four. Sipping red wine in a relaxed atmosphere, they discussed what to do and who is to blame.
Emmanuel Macron, President of France: "The far-right is gaining ground using fear and lies and the help of foreign powers that want to destroy the European project".
In fact, there are now three candidates for the post of head of the European Commission: Manfred Weber, Frans Timmermans, representing the Social Democrats, Margrethe Vestager, representing liberals. The latter has an advantage, having ridden high in the elections, and being a woman, which is important in Europe. Serving as the European Commissioner for Competition, she was famous for issuing gigantic fines against American companies (Apple, Microsoft, and Google), which they paid.
But there is also a shadow candidate: Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.
- Did the election outcome alter the guest list?
- You know, I was surprised to see former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi here, whom this election revitalized politically. Also, British Prime Minister Theresa May is attending the summit. She seized another opportunity to speak with the head of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.
Theresa May, British Prime Minister: "Great Britain is still a member of the European Union, and I am still the prime minister. So I didn't come for nothing. I have always fought for my country in Brussels".
Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the European Commission: "I will have a short meeting with Theresa May. But, honestly, there will be no negotiations".
But the outgoing Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was absent. His government was dismissed today because of a hard-hitting video with an allegedly Russian girl made at a villa at Ibiza. Now the media specifies that she wasn't a Russian, but a Bosnian with a perfect command of Russian who was specially chosen to fit the preferences of Vice Chancellor Strache. She received 7,000 euros for filming. The total cost of the video was 400,000 euros. Its authors wanted to sell it to Austrian politicians and businessmen for 1.5 million euros, but when they found no customers, they had to sell it to a German firm for 600,000 euros. Then, the notorious video was featured by Süddeutsche Zeitung and Der Spiegel. Now, the Austrian prosecutor's office is trying to find the authors of the video. Too late, though, as both the coalition and the government collapsed.
- Thanks, it was our correspondent Anastasia Popova from the summit in Brussels.
