(18 August 2014) – According to Notre Europe- Jacques Delors Institute, Jean-Claude Juncker’s election to the post of president of the Commission marks a new stage in the historic process of rebalancing the powers of member states and the European Parliament. Yet it has been accompanied by a fair number of political, institutional and thus also “constitutional” ambiguities.
Yves Bertoncini, Director of Notre Europe-Jacques Delors Institute, recommends to dispel these ambiguities on the basis of three complementary statements:
- An election which sets a welcome political precedent, which is not yet an institutional “custom”
- An election which clearly, though not exclusively, bolsters the party affiliation aspect of European appointments
- An election which remains a test case that needs to be transformed in democratic terms: what kind of agenda and what kind of primaries?
Yves Bertoncini concludes the NE-JDI “Viewpoint” underlining the need to consolidate the institutional, political and constitutional foundations of Jean-Claude Juncker’s election in order to bolster the EU’s legitimacy, thus placing the EU in a better position to address the internal and external challenges facing it.