After reappointing Roberta Metsola as their leader (see EUROPE 13454/1), MEPs elected 14 vice-presidents on Tuesday 16 July, keeping far-right groups out of the role of representing the European Parliament. On Wednesday, they will finalise the composition of the Bureau of the European Parliament with the election of five quaestors.
In a first round of voting, they approved the candidacy of the following 11 elected members, with an absolute majority of 333 votes cast out of 665 valid ballots: - EPP group: Germany’s Sabine Verheyen (604 votes), Poland’s Ewa Kopacz (572 votes), Spain’s Esteban González Pons (478 votes); - S&D group: Germany’s Katarina Barley (450), Italy’s Pina Picierno (405), Romania’s Victor Negrescu (394), Denmark’s Christel Schaldemose (378), Spain’s Javi López (377); - Renew Europe group: Slovakia’s Martin Hojsík (393), Belgium’s Sophie Wilmès (371); - Greens/EFA group: Romania’s Nicolae Ștefănuță (347).
In a second round, an absolute majority of 305 votes out of 609 valid ballots were cast to elect the Vice-Presidents: - ECR group: Latvia’s Roberts Zīle (490 votes) and Italy’s Antonella Sberna (340 votes) - La Gauche group: France’s Younous Omarjee (311 votes). There were 674 voters in this second round, and 65 blank or invalid ballots.
Three candidates from far-right groups were not elected due to a ‘cordon sanitaire’ set up by the pro-European groups: the Czech Republic’s Klára Dostálová and France’s Fabrice Leggeri from the Patriots for Europe group, and Poland’s Ewa Zajączkowska-Hernik from the Europe of Sovereign Nations group. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)