This afternoon at 6 o’clock (local time, 7 pm Greek time) the first assessment of the results of the European elections, as well as the first discussion on the persons who will take over the EU’s top offices (Presidents of the Commission, Council, Parliament, High Representative for the common foreign and security policy).

It’s up to European Council to appoint the people who will hold the EU’s top offices and, under the EU Treaty, the decision should reflect the diversity of the EU in terms of geography, country size, gender and political beliefs.

The unwritten rule wants the political group that comes first in the European elections to claim the presidency of the Commission.

The ELP remains the party with the most members in the European Council and after its clear victory in the European elections, its candidate, the 65-year-old German Ursula von der Leyen, seems to be in a very good starting position for a second term in the presidency of the Commission.

Each political family, after counting their votes (EPP, Social Democrats, Liberals), will negotiate the top EU positions.

The largest country under the leadership of the EPP is Poland. It is up to its prime minister, Donald Tusktogether with the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakisto defend von der Leyen’s candidacy.

From the side of Social Democratsthe German chancellor has received a mandate to negotiate Olaf Solz and the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchezwho support the candidacy of the former Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Costa for the position of President of the European Council.

Commission President von der Leyen will take part in the first meeting of the Summit, which will discuss the priorities of the next legislative period, but will then have to leave the room to allow heads of state and government to discuss the top EU officials.

Diplomatic sources estimate that European leaders are close to a consensus on the persons who will take over.

The faces

These persons are Ursula von der Leyen, the former Prime Minister of Portugal Costa, the Prime Minister of Estonia Kaya Kalas (for the position of High Representative of the EU) and h Roberta Metzola from Malta for a second term in the presidency of the European Parliament. It is therefore possible that there will already be a first political agreement today, which will then be formalized at the European Council of 27 and 28 June.

Based on the EU Treaty, the future President of the Commission must have the support of the European Council with a qualified majority (including 55% of the countries and 65% of the population) and then the European Parliament is called upon to approves him by secret ballot.

A simple majority is required for the approval of the new President of the Commission by the new European Parliament, that is 361 votes from the total of 720 MEPs.

Based on the result of the June 9 European elections, the three political groups forming an informal coalition in the European Parliament are the European People’s Party (189 seats), the Socialists and Democrats (135 seats) and the Center-Liberals (79 seats). They have a total of 403 out of 720 seats, i.e. a comfortable majority, well above the threshold of 361 votes.