Inter-Institutional Rivalry and the Spitzenkandidaten Experiment: Analysing the 2014-2019 Inter-Election Period and Understanding the Non-Implementation of the Spitzenkandidaten System in 2019

The mechanism for appointing the President of the European Commission has undergone a significant change in the post-Lisbon era. The introduction of the Spitzenkandidaten system, in the lead up to the 2014 European Parliamentary elections, marked a distinct shift in the inter-institutional power balance between the European Council and the European Parliament. As a consequence of the appointment of Jean-Claude Juncker as Commission President, the European Parliament had exerted considerable influence, despite not having a clear legal mandate. However, the shift in the inter-institutional balance of power was temporary. The Spitzenkandidaten system did not become codified in the Treaties and the future of the system became a subject of debate. A shift occurred in the 2014-2019 inter-election period, culminating in the non-implementation of the appointment mechanism in 2019. This thesis will trace historically the evolution of the Spitzenkandidaten system, recount the appointment...Show moreThe mechanism for appointing the President of the European Commission has undergone a significant change in the post-Lisbon era. The introduction of the Spitzenkandidaten system, in the lead up to the 2014 European Parliamentary elections, marked a distinct shift in the inter-institutional power balance between the European Council and the European Parliament. As a consequence of the appointment of Jean-Claude Juncker as Commission President, the European Parliament had exerted considerable influence, despite not having a clear legal mandate. However, the shift in the inter-institutional balance of power was temporary. The Spitzenkandidaten system did not become codified in the Treaties and the future of the system became a subject of debate. A shift occurred in the 2014-2019 inter-election period, culminating in the non-implementation of the appointment mechanism in 2019. This thesis will trace historically the evolution of the Spitzenkandidaten system, recount the appointment procedure in 2014 and analyse the ensuing inter-institutional power struggle between the European Council and the European Parliament. To explain the non-implementation of the Spitzenkandidaten system in 2019, Müller Gomez, Wessels and Wolters (2019) theoretical approach to inter-institutional relations is implemented. In doing so, the thesis contributes to a wider debate about the institutional architecture of the EU and the balance of power between the institutions, i.e., the interplay between supranationalism and intergovernmentalism.Show less

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Inter-Institutional Rivalry and the Spitzenkandidaten Experiment: Analysing the 2014-2019 Inter-Election Period and Understanding the Non-Implementation of the Spitzenkandidaten System in 2019