Third time lucky? : prospects for the Spitzenkandidaten process for the 2024 European elections

Abstract

The purpose of the proposed roundtable is to discuss the impact of the Spitzenkandidaten process and debate its prospects for the 2024 European elections, bringing together a number of scholars including some of the editors and contributors of the recently published volume on the topic. The Spitzenkandidaten process can be seen as a major innovation in the EU’s political system and has arguably revolutionised the manner in which the top leadership in the EU is selected. Against the experiences of 2014 and 2019, and looking forward to the 2024 elections, panelists will debate whether the system has helped to make EU politics more transparent and responsive to citizen interests, whether it is misguided or indeed whether, as some have claimed, actually has failed. Panelists will include academics (incl. some of the authors who have contributed to the above volume) as well as practitioners.