Jaume Duch

Ursula von der Leyen will have to wait a month before heading to the next European Commission, as the European Parliament rejected three candidate-commissioners, the institution's spokesman said Wednesday (16 October), Euractiv reported.

Ursula von der Leyen will have to wait a bit longer before she takes over as the next European Commission president after the European Parliament delayed a vote on the appointment of her team on Wednesday.

European Parliament Spokesperson Jaume Duch says the European Parliament's legal Committee (JURI) has confirmed that Laszlo Trcsnyi and Rovana Plumb "cannot be appointed as Commissioners, in accordance with the Treaties and the Code of Conduct".

The European Parliament announced March 9 that it had alerted anti-fraud investigators to possible financial irregularities committed by France's far-right National Front (FN) party over salaries paid to EU parliamentary assistants.
      

The group of Britain's UK Independence Party (UKIP) within the European Parliament collapsed after losing a Latvian MEP who withdrew on Thursday.

Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) was the brainchild of UKIP, the anti-immigrant, anti-EU party co-founded and currently led by the controversial Nigel Farage, and Italian comedian Beppe Grillo's Five Star Movement.