The leader of the European People’s Party (EPP) political group in the European Parliament, Manfred Weber, is advocating the merger of the two highest positions in the European Union into a single role of EU President in order to increase the EU’s influence in foreign policy matters. After the next European Parliament elections in 2029, he would therefore unite the roles of President of the European Council and President of the European Commission into a President of the EU, Weber said.
Currently, the Union is represented at international summits by both the President of the European Council, António Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Weber believes that for conversational partners it is sometimes not entirely clear whom they should turn to about specific issues.
Furthermore, he also called for new ways of cooperation among Member States, arguing that in foreign policy matters the European treaties bind the EU to the principle of unanimity in external policy, which, in his view, hampers effective action.
