Brussels, 14/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - In the evening of Tuesday 13 September, the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (EP) unanimously selected German MEP Martin Schulz as the S&D Group candidate for the Presidency of the Parliament. Under a reciprocal agreement between the two main political groups in the EP, Schulz could succeed Jerzy Buzek, who was elected in mid-July 2009, from the start of 2012. Traditionally, the parliamentary term is divided into two periods of two and a half years each.
Following his nomination, Schulz promised that, if elected, he would “collaborate closely with the leaders of the different political groups and heads of delegation to strengthen the role of the Parliament and its powers of scrutiny over the European Council”, an S&D Group press release states.
At a press conference in Strasbourg on Tuesday, Schulz said that he “would like to earn the confidence” of the different political groups and that he had the advantage of representing “all Social-Democrats in the House”. The role of the EP president is to strengthen the institution's position, including vis-à-vis the other institutions, he said. As far as possible, the president must achieve consensus within the EP, hold the role of mediator and coordinator, and sometimes be prepared to lay aside his own preferences when dealing with the political groups in order to find agreement, he went on to say.
The crucial question for Schulz is how to win back citizens' confidence in the institutions. He called for the EP to become “the place of democracy and democratic decisions”. The EP must also operate in a coherent way, he said. “I believe that Mr Buzek has been a worthy representative of this Parliament. He is the first representative of a former Warsaw Pact country. … He deserves the greatest respect for the way in which he has conducted his term of office”, Schulz added.
Joseph Daul (EPP, France) said that he would observe the technical arrangement providing for “two and a half years of EPP presidency and two and half years of Socialist Group presidency” and will make sure that it is observed.
The Greens/EFA Group has announced that it will not be putting forward a candidate for the EP presidency since the outcome of the election is a foregone conclusion. (L.C./transl.rt)