On Thursday 25 January, Frenchwoman Valérie Hayer was elected by acclamation to chair the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament. She succeeds her compatriot Stéphane Séjourné, recently appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs (see EUROPE B13324A1).
A specialist in budgetary issues in Parliament since 2019, Ms Hayer becomes the second woman to chair the centrist group, after Simone Veil.
In an initial exchange with the press, she emphasised two objectives: “to maintain and...