03/09/2021 (Agence Europe) – The coordinator of the European Parliament delegation to the Conference on the Future of the EU (COFE), Guy Verhofstadt (Renew Europe, Belgium) proposed on Friday 3 September that the decision on the distribution of seats between political groups be postponed. The proposed distribution based on a system of “fixed seats” does not seem to comply with the D’Hondt rules (see EUROPE 12782/27) and would be to the detriment of small political groups (those with no more than nine representatives, in this case The Left group). The members of the Executive Council were therefore mandated to make a proposal before the next meeting of the COFE parliamentary delegation by the end of September. Under the proposed method, The Left would be excluded from the three main thematic groups. On the contrary, under the D’Hondt rule, The Left would potentially be present in two thematic groups, a source told us. (PH)