The President of the European Commission, who is facing a renewed election in the European Parliament today, is going into the meeting with a fragile majority, although last-minute changes suggest that she could count on support from both the Greens and the ECR.
The president of the European ComissionUrsula von der Leyen is playing for her renewal in office this Thursday against a European Parliament which has relaxed the cordon sanitaire on the extreme right by excluding the Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloniwhich brings him closer to gaining support for the vote.
Von der Leyen goes into the meeting with a fragile majority, although last-minute changes suggest that she could count on support from both the Greens and the ECR, whom she differentiates from other far-right groups such as the Patriots for Europe of the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor OrbánOr the Europe of Sovereign Nations of the ultra party Alternative for Germanywhom he considers to be more pro-Russian and Eurosceptic.
In this scenario, he will seek to repeat the coalition made up of ‘populares’, socialists and liberals that already supported his candidacy in 2019, which together add up to a total of 401 seats out of a total of 720 which make up the hemicycle, which is more fragmented and smaller – with 27 fewer seats after the United Kingdom left the EU – than five years ago, when the German politician became the first woman to preside over the Community Executive.
However, Von der Leyen needs to add 361 seats to pass the revalidation, which forces her to seek support outside the fragile majority of the center coalition and explore the options that ECR offers to compensate for any last-minute changes among state delegations, since their renewal will be decided by secret ballot.
Not in vain, only his own political family, the European People’s Party (EPP, with 188 seats)has guaranteed the head of the Community Executive unwavering support, since social democrats and liberals condition their support on respect for their own priorities, while they have drawn a red line on any cooperation with the extreme rightwhich in this legislature has managed to constitute three groups and add for now 187 seats.
Although the Social Democratic (136) and Liberal (77) families They have made it clear to Von der Leyen that they will not be able to count on their votes if she makes a pact with the far-right groups. The German politician has tried to differentiate between the three groups and has extended a hand to Meloni’s party, stating that she will count on those who declare themselves pro-European, opposed to the regime of Russian Vladimir Putin and defenders of the rule of law.
Ruling of the CJEU
In addition, the appointment comes after yesterday, Wednesday, the General Court of the European Union (GC) ruled against the European Commission for Lack of transparency regarding contract conditions that Ursula von der Leyen’s Executive signed with large pharmaceutical companies for the Purchase of coronavirus vaccines in the early stages of the pandemic.
The first-instance ruling by the European Court of Justice, which is subject to appeal, refers in particular to Brussels’ refusal to grant MEPs and others who requested it “sufficiently broad” access to the provisions relating to compensation and declarations on conflicts of interest of the contract negotiators. The European Commission stressed the “difficult balance” required by such agreements.
Source: Eitb
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.