Meeting in Vienna on Wednesday 6 September, Renew Europe, the centre-right group in the European Parliament, ruled out “any privileged relationship with the far right or the far left”, either now or after the European elections in June 2024. And he called on the EPP and S&D groups to continue to apply the “coalition agreement” that the three political groupings had sealed in mid-term, in order to implement major reforms such as the European Green Deal (see EUROPE 12870/2).
“We call on the pro-European parties in the European Parliament to reject populism and cooperation with the far right or the far left”, said Stéphane Séjourné, chairman of the Renew Europe group, in a statement. She added: “The political landscape is increasingly polarised, but we know that tomorrow’s Europe will be built from the political centre”.
In their Vienna Declaration, the MEPs from the Parliament’s third largest political group set out their political priorities, which they will pass on to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the State of the Union address in Strasbourg on Wednesday 13 September.
These priorities include: - defending fundamental rights, fighting discrimination and upholding the rule of law; - defending purchasing power through measures to unlock the EU’s economic potential, education and training, reform of European fiscal rules and greater respect for EU law on the single market; - greater investment in the technological sectors of the future (AI, supercomputers, semi-conductors, 'net zero emission' industries) and the deepening of trade relations with other democracies around the world; - making progress towards climate neutrality “in a pragmatic and ambitious way”, by adopting all the legislation still on the table to give concrete form to the European Green Deal; - pursuing a “humane and effective” migration policy that reconciles responsibility (reinforced protection of external borders) and solidarity (opening up legal and safe routes into the EU); - strengthening the EU’s place in the world by providing unwavering support for Ukraine and promoting European values; - reforming the EU to allow it to welcome new member countries.
See the Vienna Declaration of the Renew Europe group: https://aeur.eu/f/8gp (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)