der Leyen, a fellow member of the European People's Party, being appointed president. In September 2021, Weber announced his intention to run for another term as EPP group leader, while at the same time announcing his candidacy to become president of the EPP and succeed incumbent president Donald Tusk. Role in national politics In 2015, Bavaria's Minister President Horst Seehofer nominated Weber as one of his deputies in the office of CSU chairman, making him part of the party's leadership. In the negotiations to form a coalition government under the leadership of Chancellor Angela Merkel following the 2017 federal elections, he was part of the working group on European policy, led by Peter Altmaier, Alexander Dobrindt and Achim Post. Merkel and her government also have backed Weber's bid to become President of the European Commission. Political positions European integration On 7 June 2014, Weber dismissed demands by British Prime Minister David Cameron to put the brakes on European integration. Weber stated that "The EU is based on an ever closer union of European peoples. That is set out in the treaties. It is not negotiable for us... We cannot sell the soul of Europe... if we grant every national parliament a veto right, Europe would come to a standstill." However, he supports Cameron's demand that Britain, as a non-euro country, should be empowered to influence eurozone policy decisions. Also, he told The Guardian in early 2015 that the United Kingdom's drive to freeze welfare payments for EU immigrants was justified and set an example for the rest of the union. In early 2017, Weber held that if the International Monetary Fund (IMF) insisted on debt relief for Greece, it should no longer participate in the bailout, thereby breaking ranks with his political party's official line that the program would end if the IMF pulled out. Commenting on the UK's vote to leave the European Union, Weber said, "The British people decided to leave this union, so they will not be so comfortable, so safe, not so economically strong. That's why we will say that it really is a very negative day." As chairman of the European People's Party, the biggest party within the EU Parliament, Weber placed a petition to grant free Interrail tickets to all EU citizens on their 18th birthday. These tickets would allow free travel within all of the EU for one month. Motivating reasons mentioned by