Frederik Reinfeldt, the prime minister of Sweden, said today that the European Parliament would not vote in July on whether to approve giving José Manuel Barroso a second term as European Commission president.
Sweden took over the presidency of the Council of Ministers on 1 July, just two weeks after the European Council had agreed to nominate Barroso for a second term.
Reinfeldt and other members of the Council had wanted the newly elected Parliament to endorse the nomination at its first plenary session, which will be held in Strasbourg on 14-16 July. Four groups – the Socialists, the Liberals, the Greens and the United European Left – all want to delay the vote until September at the earliest.
But Reinfeldt is now resigned to a delay. Speaking at a press conference in Stockholm with Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of France, he said: “Some important [political] groups have said they are not ready and want to defer the decision slightly.”
Sarkozy said he had proposed to the presidency delaying the vote until after July, adding: “From 15 July to 15 September is not a disaster. What is important is that we will be able to nominate Mr Barroso in September.”
