MEP of the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament and also vice-president of the European ALDE party, Fredrick Federley (Sweden), said on Tuesday 25 June, that the fact that 75 MEPs (out of the 108 that the group is expected to have) were newly elected will be a challenge for the group.
"It's a challenge", he acknowledged during a discussion at the ALDE party. "We need to be sure we use competencies we do have. Some members have been there for quite some time", he said. And if the objective for these 'senior' MEPs is to not dictate for the group, they should counsel other elected officials, he explained. According to Mr Federley, the MEPs who will take advice from the ones a little more senior will be the ones able to deliver.
"We are ambitious (...) There are so many new MEPs that we need to work quite clearly to make sure that we have coherence, trust, and operate in a way so that the members who have been there for a long time in the European Parliament are not put out", he added. Earlier, he explained that there was a long way to go in the group to build trust.
Stressing that the group should retain the leverage of being the third largest group in the Parliament, the MEP added that it was necessary to ensure that Renew Europe members work in the same direction. "There are certainly some challenges", he acknowledged.
Once a candidate for the position of group president, the MEP explained that he had abandoned the race after realising that most members did not have a free choice in their vote, but that it was dictated by their delegation.
Mr Federley also confirmed to EUROPE that Renew Europe wanted to have the chair of the Environment Committee in the Parliament and that within the group, two parties - Renaissance and Lib Dem - were competing for the position. He added that this should go to the largest delegation, numerically speaking, and therefore to Renaissance. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant with Sophie Petitjean)