The Spanish Iratxe García Pérez and the French Valérie Hayer will respectively chair the S&D and Renew Europe groups.
The next European Parliament It will be led by familiar faces.
After their constituent meetings on Wednesday afternoon, the Social Democrats (S&D) and the Liberals of Renew Europe they re-elected their acting leadersbetting on the status quo to weather what is expected to be a hemicycle in which legislation will be the subject of bitter and prolonged fights.
The Spanish Iratxe García Pérez, close ally of the president of the GovernmentPedro Sánchez, was supported by her fellow socialists for a new mandate. With 136 seats, the S&D remains the second force in the European Parliament and the main voice of the progressive camp.
“We want to insist and work with our priorities: equality, democracy, the rule of law and, of course, a strong agenda for a social democratic and sustainable Europe“said García Pérez after confirming his re-election.
“We have to continue with our ambitions on the Green Dealinvestment in the industry and continued support for Ukraine and peace in the Middle East,” he added.
Hayer, re-elected as leader of the liberal group
For her part, the Frenchwoman Valérie Hayer, whom the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, entrusted to lead a hard-fought campaign against the far-right National Groupwas elected president of Renew Europe, despite the poor results of his delegation at the polls.
Due to the collapse of Macron’s Renaissance, Renew Europe has fallen from 102 to 74 MEPs, weakening the traditional role of king party between right and left.
Both leaders were elected by acclamation, since They were the only ones who showed up.
In the case of the Social Democrats in the European Parliament, the good results of the Italian Democratic Party (PD) initially fueled speculation that an Italian candidate would be presented for dethrone García Pérezof the PSOE, although in the end it was not the case.
One of his first tasks will be to lead the negotiations with Ursula von der Leyenwho needs socialist votes to ensure his re-election as president of the European Commission. Asked about possible compromises, García Pérez said that her group “will negotiate policies,” but warned that “it cannot be a blank check.”
“We have to talk about our priorities and we are going to be very serious in this sense,” he said.
Tough times for liberals
Liberal leader Valérie Hayer’s chances were more in question, at least briefly. Sophie Wilmès, former Prime Minister of Belgium who successfully led the liberal list in the country, was seen as a formidable contender to replace Hayer and end the control that French legislators have exercised for years over the direction of Renew Europe.
Wilmès had the support of the party Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)which brings together representatives from Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Estonia and Ireland, among others, which meant that it could have gathered the necessary votes.
However, the Belgian did not show up.
In his place, the Portuguese João Cotrim de Figueiredo, winner for the first time for the Liberal Initiative party, came as a surprise. His lack of experience in Brussels and his low political profile doomed his candidacy. When it became clear that other ALDE delegations were not willing to support his candidacy, Cotrim de Figueiredo withdrew and filed a candidacy to be one of the group’s new vice presidents.
The absence of rivals paved the way for Hayerensuring that Paris continues to lead the liberal family in the European Parliament.
“Renewing Europe is determined to be a vanguard of pro-European values at the center of the European Parliament,” he declared, promising to focus on defensesecurity, competitiveness, the rule of law and individual freedoms.
The re-election of García Pérez and Hayer comes days after the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) who won the elections with 189 seatswill confirm the German Manfred Weber as leader of the group.
ADVERTISINGWeber, who has held the position since 2014, also ran unopposed.
The Greens chose to a couple of familiar faces, Terry Reintke and Bas Eickhout, as co-presidents for the next term. They were the only candidates for the position.
