Strasbourg, 18/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 17 January, MEPs elected the 14 vice-presidents of the European Parliament out of 15 candidates, in the third round by qualified majority of valid votes, after the withdrawal, after the second round, of Indrek Tarand (Greens/EFA, Estonia).
Isabelle Durant (Greens/EFA, Belgium) was re-elected to her post of vice-president with 238 votes. Seven new vice-presidents were voted in from the People's Party: Alejo Vidal-Quadras of Spain (269 votes), Greece's Georgios Papastamkos (248 votes), the Italian Roberta Angelilli (246 votes), the Austrian Othmar Karas (244 votes), Germany's Rainer Wieland (230 votes), Jacek Protasiewicz of Poland (206 votes) and the Hungarian László Surján (188 votes). The Socialists and Democrats won three posts, for Italy's Gianni Pittella (319 votes), Miguel Angel Martinez Martinez of Spain (295 votes) and Greece's Anni Podimata (281 votes). The Liberals and Democrats, with Edward McMillan-Scott of the UK (239 votes) and Germany's Alexander Alvaro (235 votes), also won two seats. Lastly, the Czech Conservative Reformist, Oldøich Vlasak (223 votes), was elected.
These new vice-presidents will take their seats in the Bureau of the European Parliament, a body which lays down the rules of the institution, draws up its preliminary draft budget and decides on administrative, staff and organisational issues. (CG/transl.fl)