German conservative seeks to front center-right in EU elections: source
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - German conservative Manfred Weber will announce his candidacy on Wednesday to front the center-right in European elections next year, a source familiar with the plans told Reuters.
FILE PHOTO: Manfred Weber, chairman of the European People Party (EPP), takes part in a summit of the party in St Julian's, Malta, March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File Photo
The Bavarian leads the center-right European People’s Party caucus, a grouping of conservative parties in the European Parliament. If other member parties give him their backing, Weber would be frontrunner to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission president next year.
Germany’s Spiegel magazine first reported the plan in an unsourced report, saying Weber would make the announcement in Brussels at 1045 GMT.
Juncker’s successor must be agreed by leaders of European Union member states following the European elections in May. Their nominee must also be confirmed by EU lawmakers before the new commission president takes over in November 2019.
Bavarian premier Markus Soeder has backed Weber’s candidacy, boosting the 46-year-old’s bid to become European Commission chief.
Weber and Soeder are both members of the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union.
Reporting by Peter Maushagen; Writing by Joseph Nasr in Berlin; editing by David Stamp
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