Key contenders for the next leader of the EU go head-to-head in debate
Candidates for the European Commission debated topics including the economy and jobs, defense, climate change, democracy, and immigration.
During the final debate before the European parliamentary election, incumbent European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen faced off against four other contenders on a range of issues.
The European Union (EU) will hold elections from June 6 to 9, where citizens of each of the 27 nations comprising the EU will elect their representatives to the European Parliament for a five-year term.
After the elections, all 27 EU member countries nominate a candidate whose European political party wins the most seats. The parliament must approve the nominee by an absolute majority. If the nominee does not get enough votes, the countries must put forward another candidate.
Two European right-wing parties, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and Identity and Democracy (ID), decided not to nominate their lead candidates for the commission presidency, so they did not participate in the debate.
The ECR said in a statement that it was never “in favor” of the lead candidate system and the system “was never fit.”
The incumbent’s party, the European People’s Party, is a center-right party, while the parties that nominated the four other candidates ranged from center and left-of-center to left-wing.
