Madariaga - College of Europe Foundation

12:30 - Tuesday, 7 July 2009

Whilst unanimously backed by the leaders of the 27 EU Member States at their Summit on 19-20 June, José Manuel Barroso’s reappointment as President of the European Commission has emerged as the first big issue of debate amongst newly elected MEPs. The centre-right EPP, the largest parliamentary group, supports Mr Barroso’s candidature and favours a vote on the issue at the Parliament’s first session on 14-15 July. On the other hand the Greens - vehemently opposed to Mr Barroso - and the Alliance of Socialists and Democrats are pushing for the vote to be delayed until after the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. The liberal group ALDE is split on the issue. So what exactly is at stake here? What has Mr Barroso come to stand for? What impact is the decision likely to have on the institutional and political setting of the EU for the forthcoming years?

Véronique de Keyser, MEP, Vice-President of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (PASD), and Iñigo Méndez de Vigo, MEP, European People's Party (EPP), shared their points of view on these issues during a Citizen's Controversy on 7 July 2009.   

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