On Tuesday 25 June, the centre-right and liberal Renew Europe group in the European Parliament reappointed Frenchwoman Valérie Hayer as its leader.
She assured that her group remains “determined to be the vanguard of pro-European values within the Parliament”.
At the inaugural meeting, the group’s 74 elected members adopted a charter setting out the movement’s fundamental principles. The focus is on European defence and security, competitiveness, the defence of the rule of law, the protection of individual rights and the need to strengthen European sovereignty.
According to Ms Hayer, positioned at the centre of the political spectrum, the Renew Europe group will not be able to be ignored by the other groups with which it is supposed to form a pro-European coalition. Before supporting the election of Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen to head the European Commission, she wanted to wait for the European Council’s decision and find out the Christian Democrat candidate’s political priorities.
The centre-right group could announce new arrivals as early as Wednesday.
Among the economic priorities of the centre-right group, Ms Hayer stressed in her speech the need to “considerably reduce bureaucracy for our businesses, particularly SMEs”, to encourage innovation and to strengthen trade relations with the EU’s trading partners in order to reduce dependency.
On fundamental values, the MEP stressed “the Group’s deep attachment to the values of democracy and respect for the rule of law”. “As Viktor Orbán’s government prepares to take over the Presidency of the Council of the EU, these values resonate with us more strongly than ever. Protecting civil liberties, the foundations of democracy, the rights of women and minorities, press freedom and the fight against disinformation will continue to be at the heart of our political action”, she promised.
Speaking to the press, however, the MEP did not mention the group’s position towards members of the Dutch VVD party, which has joined the coalition government in the Netherlands despite the Renew Europe group’s stated opposition to any collaboration with the far right (see EUROPE 13428/1).
On Tuesday, the Renew Europe group will elect eight Vice-Presidents, including a first Vice-President.
See Ms Hayer’s speech: https://aeur.eu/f/ctb (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)