The Socialists of the European Parliament could end up coming out as the poor relations from the grand round of horse-trading for positions which kicked off on Tuesday 17 January, following the announcement of an agreement between the EPP and ALDE groups to support the bid of Italy's Antonio Tajani (EPP) for the Presidency of the European Parliament.
Following the debacle of the Five Star Movement episode (see EUROPE 11699), the leader of ALDE, Belgium's Guy Verhofstadt, has managed to pull off a veritable tour de force by securing the support of the EPP for the key posts in the European Parliament and possibly even the European Commission.
The post of Parliament's coordinator for Brexit, which is held by Guy Verhofstadt, will be reinforced. The resolution to be voted on by the MEPs in February on their red lines is expected to contain the threat of the institution's veto on the final agreement if the former Belgian Prime Minister is not involved at political level in the negotiations on the future relationship between the EU and the UK. Verhofstadt, who was left out in the cold in December of last year, threatened the European leaders that he would carry out his own bilateral talks with the UK if the Twenty-Seven did not involve him more.
However, the S&D group is finding the fact that Verhofstadt never put the proposal of the leader of the Socialist group, Gianni Pittella, to the Liberals very hard to swallow. Pittella sent an email to the MEPs explaining his proposal to the ALDE group: maintaining the status quo regarding the posts in Parliament, confirming Verhofstadt's role as coordinator on Brexit, the chairmanship of a working group on the next steps on from the 60th anniversary of the treaty of Rome and also the chairmanship of a special committee on corruption. On Tuesday lunchtime, French MEP Pervenche Bérès explained that the S&D group would therefore be able to challenge Verhofstadt's selection as coordinator on Brexit by forming an alliance with the Greens/EFA and the GUE/NGL in order to force the conference of the presidents to revise this position.
Sources within the ECR group are reportedly not particularly happy about the EPP/ALDE deal, but declined to be drawn on the group's possible position on the future of Guy Verhofstadt. It is very much the same story with the Greens/EFA group. According to the chair of the EPP, Manfred Weber, there was an oral agreement with the ECR group for their candidate to withdraw in the second round. Such a scenario did not eventually transpire.
However, ALDE has issued a press statement denying the existence of an offer from Pittella.
In the event of victory for Tajani, ALDE would also be given the chairmanship of the committee of investigation into the terrorist attacks carried out in Europe in recent months. Manfred Weber floated this idea over the weekend. As a quarter of the members of the European Parliament is enough to set up a committee of investigation, it is highly likely to come to fruition.
ALDE would also get the chairmanship of the meetings of the presidents of the parliamentary committees, previously held by Poland's Jerzy Buzek (EPP). The French delegation of the EPP, however, had its eye on this position for Alain Cadec.
Finally, Verhofstadt would be invited to the "G5", the meeting to define the European legislative agenda and where the Commission establishes whether it has a majority in Parliament in favour of a given text. These meetings were attended by: the President and Vice-President of the Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker and Frans Timmermans respectively, the chair of the EPP, Manfred Weber, and, until now, the chair of the S&D, Gianni Pittella, as well, whilst the ALDE was not invited.
Could the EPP-ALDE agreement be extended to the other institutions? In any event, both of these groups have undertaken to support the other's candidates to key posts in the other institutions.
According to a number of ALDE sources, a female Liberal candidate should be given a Vice-Presidency of the European Commission. When Bulgaria's Kristalina Georgieva left, her portfolio was given to Commissioner Oettinger, but there is still a Vice-Presidency up for grabs. The same sources have named the Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, and her counterpart for Trade, Cecilia Malmström.
In exchange, ALDE may consider supporting a new term in office for Donald Tusk from the EPP party at the European Council.
The Socialists are concerned that the EPP will make them pay for breaking the 2014 agreement providing for the EPP to take the Presidency halfway through the legislative period. The real battle could be fought out for the chairmanship of the powerful committee on economic and monetary affairs, held by Roberto Gualtieri (S&D, Italy). "All of the posts will be taken hostage in retaliation for the vote on the Presidency", an S&D source said. An ALDE document predicts that Jean Arthuis will hold onto the chairmanship of the committee on budgets and Cecilia Wikström will retain that of the committee on petitions. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)