Even von der Leyen has been denounced by rivals as a “pretend” Spitzenkandidat, provided that she shouldn’t be working as an MEP and is due to this fact circuitously electable. Her primary rival, the Socialists’ lead candidate Nicolas Schmit, can also be not working as an MEP, breaking with the custom set by his two predecessors, Martin Schulz and Frans Timmermans.
Different events have put ahead multiple candidate for the single-person position: The Greens, for instance, have put ahead MEPs Bas Eickhout and Terry Reintke.
The liberals nominated three candidates, all of whom dominated out working for the job of Fee president at their marketing campaign launch occasion.
Even politicians who oppose the far proper criticized the EBU’s determination to not permit them to debate. “I’d not exclude them, no,” mentioned Domènec Ruiz Devesa, a Spanish socialist MEP who’s an EU federalist, and who desires the Spitzenkandidat system to work in tandem with a brand new EU-wide constituency of MEPs who might be elected by all voters.
An EBU spokesperson wrote in an electronic mail: “Two events …[ECR and ID] … haven’t nominated lead candidates for the Presidency of the European Fee and are due to this fact not eligible to participate within the Debate.”
A senior Parliament official mentioned this was a matter for the EBU and the political events, and mentioned nothing has modified in contrast with debates held in 2014 and 2019.
