Strasbourg, 14/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the EPP-ED Group re-elected to its head, by 94.86% of the votes, its current President, Hans-Gert Poettering, for two-and-a-half years, until the end of the legislature. The CDU member, member of the EP since 1979, declared on that occasion that the Group's priorities would be the institutional reform process and the conclusion of the enlargement process (everything must be put in motion for the reform to be completed before the European elections of 2004, Poettering repeated).
Hans-Gert Poettering announced that, in compliance with the agreement concluded with the Liberal and Democratic Group at the beginning of the legislature, he would come down firmly for the election of Pat Cox as President of the European Parliament (see other article). This agreement is a political signal to the smaller groups, which must also have the opportunity that the EP President should come from their ranks, states Poettering in a statement published after his election.
The Group also elected six Vice-Presidents, France's Francoise Grossetete, Spain's Jose Ignacio Salafranca, Italy's Francesco Fiori, Finland's Ilkka Suominen, Britain's James Elles, the Netherlands' Wim van Velzen, as well as, as Treasurer, Austria's Othmar Karas.