Sandro Gozi, an Italian MEP and Secretary General of the European Democratic Party (EDP), was nominated on Friday 8 March in Florence as the EDP’s candidate to lead the Renew Europe group’s election campaign in the European Parliament, alongside two other candidates from the ALDE and Renaissance parties, who have not yet been nominated.
“I am proud to represent the European Democrats on Renew’s Team Europe for the forthcoming elections. I would like to thank Chairman François Bayrou and all the members of the EDP for their confidence. Together, we will fight for a more united and democratic Europe”, declared Sandro Gozi following his appointment.
The three-member team (‘Team Europe’) that will lead the Renew Europe election campaign will be presented at the launch of the ‘Renew Europe Now’ campaign on 20 March in Brussels.
The Renaissance and ALDE parties have yet to decide on their respective candidates.
While the appointment of the current chair of the Renew Europe group, Valérie Hayer, as head of the list of Renaissance, the party of the French presidential majority (see EUROPE 13361/35), may have led to some confusion, her campaign team has confirmed to Agence Europe that she is not automatically designated as a member of this ‘Team Europe’. The name of the current Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, has been circulating for several weeks.
For the ALDE, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas had been suggested at one point, but she rejected the proposal, which “has both advantages and disadvantages”, on Thursday 7 March, Estonian public media ERR reported.
Renew Europe is currently the third largest force in the European Parliament, but the latest polls predict a loss of around twenty seats and a risk of falling below far-right group ID.
At the EDP convention, the French Minister Delegate for Europe, Jean-Noël Barrot, called on people to “come and swell the ranks of the EDP” and to “put aside political calculations and petty squabbles”, taking aim at the Italian Democrats in particular.
He called on the Italian Democrats to unite and ensure that they could send at least ten MEPs to the Strasbourg Parliament. “This is the condition for the group to which we belong today to remain the third largest group in the European Parliament and to be able to bring its full weight to bear on the agenda of the Council, the Commission and the Parliament”, he declared. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)