jef - PR Council President

PR Council President

Federalists call for a consensual and discreet Chair of the European Council

On the eve of the European summit in Brussels which will decide on the name of the first so-called “President” of the European Council with a term of two-and-a-half years, the Young European Federalists (JEF-Europe) regret the lack of transparency and the undemocratic character of the so-called “election” process but insist on the appointment of a candidate with a pro-integrationist profile.

Philippe Adriaenssens, President of JEF-Europe, reminds: “Let there be no misunderstanding: there is no election of the President of the EU but only an appointment of the Chairperson of the European Council. The one and only real President who promotes the general interest of the Union continues to be the President of the Commission, while it will be up to the new double-hatted Vice-President of the Commission & High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to authoritatively represent the EU on the international stage and conduct its common foreign, security and defence policy.”

What is important for this Chairperson is that s/he fulfils the internal requirements of the position by facilitating cohesion and consensus within the European Council. According to JEF-Europe, the desired profile is someone who is endowed with excellent negotiating skills and who is not driven by lust for power or prestige but decisively seeks to strike the best balance in the interest of the Union amidst intergovernmental bargaining. The ideal person for the job is thus dedicated to diplomatically finding compromises which strengthen the existing European Union and hence demonstrates the readiness to pursue federalist principles.

Philippe Adriaenssens concludes: “The last thing the EU needs is a leader appointed through an opaque process who steals the show for the Council and draws the attention away from the genuine legislative and executive institutions of the Union.”

[ENDS]

PRESS CONTACTS:

Philippe Adriaenssens, JEF Europe President, president(at)jef.eu, +32 472 33 41 27

JEF international seminar in Tarxien, Malta | 17-23 March 2010

“The ultimate solution for a better life: (im)migration?” is an international seminar organised by JEF-Europe and JEF-Malta in Tarxien, a small village in the south east of Malta from 17 until 23 October 2010.

When speaking about immigration it is important to make the distinction between legal and illegal immigrants. Despite the obvious difference in their legal status, immigrants in both categories often feel unwelcome and excluded from their host societies, which is closely linked to xenophobic attitudes widespread across Europe and openly manifested especially in recent years, but also the lack of adequate policies and assistance of governmental institutions in host countries.