The main political groups in the European Parliament have begun their internal reflections, and some even approached the other political families informally, with a view to the renewal of the Presidency of the European institution next January, as the legislature reaches the halfway point.
At this stage, the EPP group is the furthest forward. Convinced that this time the Presidency is theirs, its 178 members will elect their candidate late afternoon on Wednesday 24 November. Three MEPs are in the running: Roberta Metsola from Malta, Esther de Lange from the Netherlands and Othmar Karas from Austria.
The Christian Democrats are demanding the honouring of an informal agreement reached in July 2019 on the allocation of the top European posts (see EUROPE 12287/1). According to the agreement, the Presidency of the European Parliament would go first to the Social Democrats for two and a half years and then to the Christian Democrats, as has been the case for the last three parliamentary terms.
On Tuesday 23 November in Strasbourg, their Chair, David Sassoli (Germany), said that the EPP group was “very loyal” at the start of the mandate when they voted for David Sassoli. According to him, his political family has “the right to nominate” a candidate and stands ready to negotiate a strategic programme with the other groups. We will appoint a “very reasonable” person, he promised.
Roberta Metsola is set to be the frontrunner. Coming from a small southern European country, she represents a new generation of political leaders. Having replaced Irish MEP Mairead McGuinness as First Vice-President of the European Parliament, who left the role to join the European Commission, Metsola took up the role of Chair in place of President Sassoli when he was absent due to illness – most notably during European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union address in mid-September. She also went to Glasgow for the COP26 climate conference.
“She did the job”, according to a parliamentary source from another political group. Even the fact that her husband was named in the Pandora papers does not seem to have done her any harm, while the non-candidature of Esteban González Pons (Spain) would give her an advantage over her rivals.
The S&D group ready to fight
In Parliament, all eyes are on the S&D group, who is not prepared to let the Presidency of the Parliament slip away.
The newly re-elected president of the group, Spanish MEP Iratxe García Pérez, said on Tuesday that the presidency of the Parliament belonged “to nobody”. In her opinion, the political situation has changed since the European elections in May 2019, with the victory of the SPD party in Germany demonstrating that there is momentum for social democracy in Europe. She said she was ready to negotiate with pro-European groups to ensure political “stability”.
Social Democrats have not digested the fact that Irish Christian Democrat Paschal Donohoe was elected as head of the Eurogroup over Spanish Socialist Nadia Calviño in July 2020. They also argue that the informal agreement of July 2019 on the Presidency of the European Parliament named Manfred Weber, the unsuccessful candidate for the head the European Commission. However, the Bavarian MEP has returned to take up the Chair of the EPP group and has ambitions for the EPP party.
The other groups, though, do not see it that way. “Contrary to what the Social Democrats say, the agreement is not nominative”, said the parliamentary source.
David Sassoli is seen as the natural Social Democrat candidate. His desire to reapply is barely a secret. His initiative to launch an internal reflection on the evolution of European parliamentary democracy in light of the pandemic could even be interpreted as a way to prepare the ground for a second term (see EUROPE 12789/23).
At a meeting of the S&D group in Strasbourg on Tuesday afternoon, the EP president said his political family could not take the Parliament to the 2024 European elections with a coalition led by the conservatives. “We believe in alliances. No one is self-sufficient and we have to lead these alliances”, he was quoted as saying. Without openly declaring himself a candidate. Ms García Pérez has been asked to initiate discussions with the other political groups.
However, M. Sassoli's health is a handicap that has prevented him from campaigning behind the scenes in recent weeks. And in the corridors of the European Parliament, there is criticism of how he handled the organisation of the current plenary session in the face of the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Renew Europe group will closely negotiate its support
Since May 2019, three parliamentary groups have been needed to establish a stable pro-European majority in the European Parliament. The position of the Renew Europe group is therefore key for the election of the future European Parliament President.
Newly led by Stéphane Séjourné (France), the centre-right family will resume discussions on the strategy to be followed. According to several sources that have been consulted, it would not, at this stage, consider putting forward a candidate; it prefers to negotiate quid pro quos in exchange for its support. It is also important not to offend the Christian Democrats, as the extension of the Liberal Belgian Charles Michel’s mandate at the head of the European Council after May 2022 is crucially important.
With the French Presidency of the EU Council starting in early January, Séjourné wants to build a strong pro-European majority by blocking the far right from the governing bodies of parliamentary committees. The Renew Europe group may also be keen to retain the Chair of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, which it had acquired by welcoming its Chair, Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová (Slovakia), who had left the ECR group. This is despite the D’Hondt system of allocating posts, which is not favourable towards them.
On the left of the European Parliament, the Greens/EFA group will not adopt an approach until December. On Tuesday, its co-president, MEP Ska Keller (Germany), called for “change” in the European Parliament by committing to “better representation of society in senior positions”. A Green candidacy does not seem to have been excluded, but it is not favoured at this stage within a group where the votes will still be important in case of the candidacy of the EPP and S&D groups.
Re-elected on Tuesday as head of The Left group, Manon Aubry (France) and Martin Schirdewan (Germany) said that the radical left group would put forward “a left-wing candidate” for the presidency of the European Parliament next week. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with editorial staff)