There is much to be discussed following the European elections. How should the results be interpreted? Who is to be the new President of the European Commission? This is why Herman van Rompuy, President of the European Council, has invited the EU heads of state and government to Brussels.

Major personnel decisions

No definitive results should be expected on 27 May. The decisions for the future will be taken by the 28 heads of government along with the newly elected European Parliament, which will meet for the first time in July 2014.

Nevertheless, the European Council has some preliminary steps to take. In line with the Treaty of Lisbon, it will draw up proposals for the future Commission President and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. It will also be looking at how to further step up growth, innovation and competitiveness within the European Union.

The procedure for the election of the Commission President is regulated in Article 17, Paragraph 7 of the Treaty of Lisbon. After consultations, the European Council will propose a candidate to the European Parliament, who must be accepted by a qualified majority of European Council members. The proposal will also take into account the results of elections to the European Parliament.

The European Parliament will then elect this candidate with a majority of members of the European Parliament. If the proposed candidate fails to attract the majority of votes, the European Council shall propose a new candidate to the European Parliament within a period of one month: this candidate too must be approved by a qualified majority of the European Council.

The same procedure is then adopted by the European Parliament to elect the candidate.

One in two voted

Across Europe the turn-out was 43.09 per cent, roughly the same as five years ago. In Germany more people voted: 48.1 per cent as compared to 43.3 per cent in the European elections in 2009. This is an increase of 4.8 percentage points.

The results of the European election in Germany are available from the Federal Returning Officer.

Ukraine after the presidential elections

Ukraine too went to the polls on 25 May. The EU heads of state and government will also be discussing the outcome of these presidential elections.

At the G7 summit meeting scheduled for 4 and 5 June in Brussels, the agenda will be dominated by the crisis in Ukraine.