The leadership of the Party of European Socialists, which met online on Monday 10 June to assess the results of the 2024 European elections, congratulated PES joint candidate Nicolas Schmit on his election campaign, according to a press release.
During the meeting, the PES, which is chaired by Sweden’s Stefan Löfven, gave German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez “the mandate to negotiate on behalf of Europe’s socialists and democrats over the coming weeks and months. The PES has once again confirmed its rejection of any alliance or coalition with the far right”.
“We defend the principle of the Spitzenkandidat, but our support for a candidate is not a blank cheque. Firstly, it depends on the majority sought in the next European Parliament. We want a pro-European and pro-democratic majority. This may include our family, the EPP and the Liberals, and possibly the Greens. We will never allow an expansion of the current majority towards the ECR or the ID. The programme around which any potential majority will be formed is just as crucial”, said PES Secretary General Giacomo Filibeck, according to the press release.
On 10 June, he confirmed to Politico that Portugal’s António Costa was the PES candidate to succeed Charles Michel. The Portuguese Socialist has also received the support of the Portuguese Prime Minister, Luis Montenegro, a member of the EPP (see EUROPE 13428/23). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)