On the agenda: The European Commission is busy preparing for the “informal summit” of the EU27 on Friday, which includes debating the Spitzenkandidat process for electing a new Commission president, whereby European Parliament groups each nominate a candidate and the candidate from the group with the most Parliament seats becomes the next president. Asked about the Commission’s position on the process, spokesperson Margaritis Schinas said simply: “We are for it.”

The Commission will hold a technical briefing on Tuesday in preparation for a high-level meeting on the Sahel region of Africa Friday morning.

Schinas also announced that €1.3 billion from the EU’s cohesion fund will go toward modernizing a railway between Curtici on the Hungarian-Romanian border through Romania to Constanţa, on the Black Sea.

Eurogroup and ECOFIN: The Eurogroup meets today to discuss the stability support program in Greece, a follow-up on its program in Ireland — which ended in 2013 — and a “deepening” of the European monetary union. The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) meets on Tuesday to discuss the EU budget and sustainable finance.

‘Brussels bubble talk’: French newspaper Libération reported recently that the Commission president’s chief of staff Martin Selmayr wants to stay in his job after next year’s Parliament election. Schinas said the report was “yet another example of Brussels bubble talk.” He added: “We are part of it, but we don’t like it.”

Elections: The Commission refused to say whether there will be a minimum threshold of voters next year to validate the results of Parliament election, known for their low turnout. “We do not have the legal grounds,” Schinas said.

He also said “we’re not naive,” about the threat of possible interference in the electoral process emanating from Russia.

Brexit: Asked to comment on U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposal for a security treaty over the weekend, Schinas said the EU is only focusing on the Brexit transition and the withdrawal agreements with the U.K. Security pacts will come after, he said, adding that a potential security agreement and the future relationship are “clearly distinguished.”

Latvian central bank: Schinas said the Commission took note of Latvian authorities’ decision to investigate its central bank chief, and said “we consider this a matter for national enforcement authorities.”

Commission didn’t comment on: The European Central Bank’s next vice president. Schinas said: “We never comment on ECB-related issues.” The spokesman also declined to comment on Hungary’s draft so-called Stop Soros law, saying the Commission is not known “to comment on draft laws.”