EPP Congress, Dublin, 6-7 March 2014

Summary:

The annual congress of the European People's Party [EPP] was held in Dublin on 6-7 March 2014.

At the meeting, delegates elected Jean-Claude Juncker as the party's lead candidate for the 2014 European Parliament election.

Further information:

Jean-Claude Juncker defeated his rival Michel Barnier, with 382 votes against 245. Valdis Dombrovskis had already announced we was withdrawing his candidacy in favour of Mr Juncker.

At the congress, the EPP also paid tribute to its former President, the late Wilfried Martens and announced it would rename its foundation the 'Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies'. The unrest in Ukraine was also a main subject of dicussion during the convention, which featured the presence of some key Ukrainian stakeholders.

EUObserver, 06.03.14: Centre-right leaders to pick top EU commission candidate http://euobserver.com/eu-elections/123364

Deutsche Welle, 06.03.14: Ukraine, financial crisis overshadows EPP convention http://dw.de/p/1BLUk

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