The EPP group’s candidate for the presidency of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola from Malta, was questioned, on Wednesday 8 December about her anti-abortion stance by several MEPs of the Renew Europe group, notably from France.
Bernard Guetta is said by one observer to have “set the scene” by announcing that he would not vote for Ms Metsola so as not to send a signal that could be interpreted as a regression of women’s rights. Some recalled that one of the two women who chaired the European Parliament, the French Simone Veil, had fought for the legalisation of abortion in her country despite her party’s position.
Ms Metsola reportedly argued that her speech as a representative of the Parliament would be unambiguous on the issue, trying to convince her audience that it is possible to separate the European and Maltese contexts, where a political debate on abortion is underway.
On other issues, the Maltese Christian Democrat rather convinced MEPs, notably on the defence of the Rule of law and the ambition to implement the European Green Deal. She assured them that, as representative of all MEPs, she would chair the EU institution independently of the EPP and would faithfully defend the majority positions of the European Parliament in interinstitutional relations.
Ms Metsola’s goal is really to “unite the centre of the Assembly“, especially on issues related to fundamental rights, a second parliamentary source said. And now is the time to achieve this with the French Presidency of the EU Council coming up, the source added.
One of the candidate’s ideas is to create a European network of young women leaders, which would be responsible for putting forward ideas on how to help women reach leadership positions in their countries.
After two hours of discussions, the overall impression left by Ms Metsola seems to be rather positive, as she is appreciated for her experience and ability to shape transparent compromises, as was the case for the Parliament’s report on SLAPP proceedings against journalists (see EUROPE 12828/1).
The Renew Europe group is expected to meet again next week in Strasbourg to decide on the way forward depending on the officially declared candidates in the race for the European Parliament presidency.
The group is not expected to field a candidate itself, with its Chair, French MEP Stéphane Séjourné, preferring to make the centre-right group’s support conditional on the development of clear political priorities between now and the 2024 European elections and the maintenance of a cordon sanitaire against the far right (see EUROPE 12847/13). The reappointment of Charles Michel as President of the European Council beyond May 2022 is also an important part of the equation.
Torn between respecting the line defended by Mr Séjourné and the societal values defended by the group, the French Renaissance delegation is also expected to try to establish its position before the next meeting of the Renew Europe group.
The S&D group is continuing its reflection. On Wednesday afternoon, Spanish MEP Iratxe García Pérez, who tested positive for Covid-19, discussed with the members of the group she chairs the possibility of presenting a Social Democrat candidacy, in accordance with the mandate she received at the end of November (see EUROPE 12838/10), with the other pro-European political forces in the Parliament.
Apart from the EPP group, which is calling for compliance with the informal agreement on the European Parliament presidency reached in July 2019 (see EUROPE 12287/1), the other groups are said not be fundamentally hostile to such a move, provided that the S&D group puts forward a woman.
The Social Democrats will decide, on Tuesday 14 or Wednesday 15 December, in the margins of the plenary session in Strasbourg, whether or not to present a candidate for the presidency of the Parliament.
Sira Rego candidate of the radical left. On Wednesday, The Left group nominated Spanish Sira Rego as a candidate in the race for the European Parliament presidency, as was already the case in July 2019 at the beginning of the legislature (see EUROPE 12287/3).
At a time marked by the rise of the far right and the socio-economic crisis, the response to these challenges must be “feminism, environmentalism, the defence of public services, the welfare state and quality employment”, Ms Rego said in a statement. For her, to make this response a reality, “a new form of governance in Europe is needed”.
The day before, the ECR group had nominated Polish conservative Kosma Złotowski as the sovereignist candidate. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)