Watch the debate live above to see who impresses and who doesn't.
The debate is organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and hosted by Parliament in the Brussels chamber.
Rules for participation in the debate
To be invited to participate in the debate, candidates had to fulfil the following cumulative criteria set out EBU:
- The lead candidate to the presidency of the European Commission must be nominated by one of the European political parties which are represented in the European Parliament and recognized by the Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations and;
- The political party making the nomination must be represented in one of the officially recognized political groups in the outgoing European Parliament and;
- Only one candidate can be nominated in each political group.
TV anchors Emilie Tran Nguyen (France Television), Annastiina Heikkilä (Yle Finland) and Markus Preiss (ARD, WDR Germany) will host the debate night, The speaking order and the place of the lead candidates were drawn on 4 April. Read more.
