Just before the election process kicked off on Tuesday 17 January, the EPP and ALDE groups announced an agreement on their political priorities, aiming to ensure that the Christian Democrat candidate, Antonio Tajani of Italy, secures the Presidency of the European Parliament.
This agreement aims to set in place a pro-European coalition open to other political families, to counter the effects of the nationalist and populist forces trying to "destroy the Union from within and from outside".