2014
The lead candidate process
Sophia Russack
Researcher at the Centre for European Policy Studies ( CEPS )
Ilke Toygür
Director of the Global Policy Center and Professor of Geopolitics of Europe , IE University
The 2014 elections were marked by two key realities : a European Union ( EU ) that has been deeply transformed with the Eurozone crisis of the previous years and the invention of the lead candidate process . It is safe to assume that the former contributed to the latter , since the EU has gone through a period in which the legitimacy of decisions , including the austerity measures that were implemented in some countries , was deeply questioned .
The inception of the lead candidate process in 2014 has to be understood as the result of various long-term trends since the Treaty of Amsterdam , including the increasingly empowered and assertive role of the European Parliament , the growing empowerment of the President of the European Commission and the increasing role of the European Council .
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