About Weber

Name: Manfred Weber

European political party: European People's Party (EPP)

Nationality: German

Age: 46

Career: 2014 - chair of the EPP group in Parliament

2004 - elected to the European Parliament

1996 - 2014 founded and ran consultancy firm

1991 -1996 - engineering, Munich Higher Technical Institute

About the debate

Political parties put forward candidates for the post of president of the European Commission ahead of the European elections. The lead candidate nominated by the Council, and able to command a majority in Parliament, will be elected President of the European Commission by a vote of Parliament.

The lead candidates are sometimes referred to by the German term spitzenkandidaten. This system was first used in 2014 to select current Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

The Presidential Debate - EU Elections 2019 on 15 May at 21.00 CET is an opportunity to discover where the lead candidates stand on a range of issues.

Some political parties have nominated more than one lead candidate, but have nominated a single candidate to represent them in the debate.

Two TV moderators will host the debate. Lots were drawn to determine the speaking order.

The European People’s Party is aligned with the EPP group in Parliament.