On Friday 1 March in Rome, the Chair of the S&D Group in the European Parliament, Iratxe García Pérez (Spanish), kicked off the events surrounding the launch of the Party of European Socialists’ (PES) European election campaign on 2 March, with the expected appointment of Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, as ‘Spitzenkandidat’.
Ms García Pérez wanted to be very clear to the journalists present about the reasons for organising this congress in Italy, which involve thwarting the expected breakthrough of the far right or the eurosceptic conservatives where the Italian leader, Giorgia Meloni, is based, and with whom the PES will not enter into discussions.
“These elections are more crucial than ever, with the risk of populists and the far right blocking the pro-European majority. We are going to work to prevent this”, she said, signalling that her political family would not accept any rapprochement between Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is likely to be the candidate to head the list for the European People's Party (EPP) (see EUROPE 13355/4), and the ECR forces, in particular Ms
Meloni’s troops, in the search for a post-election coalition.
In addition, the European Socialists’ campaign will focus entirely on defending the European Green Deal, a more social and fairer Europe in terms of implementing the energy transition, as well as focusing on the rule of law and equality.
Unlike the EPP, as candidate Commissioner Nicolas Schmit (see EUROPE 13354/1) has already told EUROPE, the European Socialists will not be putting the Green Deal on hold. Defence and security will also be major themes, with European Socialists eager to lead the debate on the financial resources needed to consolidate European defence.
During the campaign, the European socialists will have to highlight “all the gains” they have made in recent years, with Ms García Pérez citing the “European Recovery Plan”, “the Green Deal, of which we are very proud”, the directives on equal pay and the adequate minimum wage.
Ms García Pérez also pointed out that Ms von der Leyen had won the support of the S&D in 2019 thanks to clear commitments, in particular on climate change, and that, this year again, she would only be able to obtain the support of the S&D with “a clear commitment on the Green Deal”.
But she also wants to believe for the time being that the PES can win these European elections and allow Nicolas Schmit to become President of the Commission. The European socialists are currently working solely with a view to winning the elections and will then negotiate on the basis of the results.
The Manifesto that the PES will be adopting on Saturday 2 March contains 20 areas of work, starting with the need to ensure quality jobs for all Europeans, followed by the priority implementation of the Green Deal and a just transition.
In the field of international relations, the language on China has evolved from an initial draft published in January, with the latest Manifesto referring to the need to rebalance EU-China relations, whereas the January document insisted on maintaining a robust relationship with Beijing.
The language was also a little more developed on the European Green Deal and the just climate transition, as was the language on the environment and sustainable agriculture (objective 8). While reiterating, as in January, that European socialists continue to “fundamentally disagree with the conservatives’ approach that sustainability is the enemy of farmers”, the latest Manifesto adds that “farmers must be supported financially and technically to reach the targets to transition to environmentally friendly farming methods. We want to reduce the use of pesticides based on national best practices, improve soil management, and protect biodiversity”. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)