The Appointment of the President of the European Commission 2019: A Toothless European Parliament?

Abstract

This chapter scrutinises the processes that led to the appointment of the new Commission President after the European elections in 2019. The authors argue that the European Parliament did not show its teeth to the Member States and that the inter-institutional power balance shifted towards the European Council. Their findings further suggest that the European Parliament’s legal veto position is a necessary condition for a power balance dominated by the Parliament. Only the combination of the Parliament’s veto power and its internal cohesion can sufficiently explain situations in which the Parliament represents the primary EU institution.