Renew Europe currently has 76 MEPs, which Ursula von der Leyen needs to secure confirmation of a second term.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission who aims to gather a majority for a second term, promised the liberal Renew Europe family that she would not establish “structured cooperation” with the group of Giorgia Meloni.
“We had good exchanges with Ursula von der Leyen. Frank and tough questions from us”he said on Wednesday Valerie Hayerthe French MEP who chairs Renew Europe (RE or Renew), after a meeting between the liberals and the incumbent.
“We made it very clear that we did not accept any flirtation with the extreme right. She gave us commitments. We will look at it very closely, of course.“.
During her re-election campaign, Von der Leyen raised blisters by making more and more explicit his approaches to the Italian prime minister, who firmly controls the far-right group European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).
Due to his socially conservative views and their attacks to freedom of the press, Meloni is considered anathema to Renew Europe, as well as to the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), who are the main opposition in Rome. However, in the center-right European People’s Party (EPP), Meloni It is seen as a constructive and pragmatic figurealthough his posture often deviates towards the euroscepticism.
The EPP does not consider the entire ECR as “extreme right”as socialists and liberals do, and prefers to treat the group in separate factions: Brothers of Italy from Meloni, on the positive side, and Law and Justice (PiS) from Poland, in the negative.
Since the elections to the European Parliament, Von der Leyen, who belongs to the moderate wing of the EPPhas changed his tune and has committed to building a platform centrist and durable with the EPP, the S&D and RE, which together would have a majority of 400 seats.
“Our position is absolutely clear, from the Renew group (Renew Europe). We should be in coalition with pro-European groups, that is clear. For us, ECR is not a pro-European group” Hayer said. “We don’t have to reach any agreement with the ECR group.”
Asked if Von der Leyen committed to excluding the ECR group from her future platform, Hayer said: “he promised to build a coalition as he has done” in his first termsupported by the EPP, the S&D and Renew Europe.
Two RE officials said Von der Leyen was more explicit during the closed-door meeting and promised “no structured cooperation” with ECR during his potential second term, a statement that seems designed to dispel any remaining doubts.
Reach the magic number: 361
Even so, the candidate should not take for granted the support of the 76 MEPs of Renew Europe. The German, Slovak, Portuguese and Irish delegations are considered the most skeptical, as ‘Euronews’ understands, due to Von der Leyen’s management of the democratic setbacks in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary and Robert Fico’s Slovakia.
Meanwhile, the six Irish MEPs oppose his re-election for his response to the war between Israel and Hamas, criticized for being excessively pro-Israel.
Similar cross-party rebellions are expected in the EPP (188 MEPs) and the S&D (136), suggesting that Von der Leyen could fall short of the 361 votes she need for a second term. The gap could be filled with the Greens (53) or the ECR group (78).
This is where lies the dilemma: getting too close to the Greens would unleash the wrath of their conservative allies; and getting too close to the ECR would, in turn, alienate progressives. Wednesday’s comment suggests that the Greens, the strongest supporters of von der Leyen’s Green Deal, They could be the safest option.
The president has already met with the S&D and Renew Europe, and is due to meet the Greens on Wednesday afternoon and the ECR group next Tuesday, before her confirmation vote on July 18. The meetings allow the groups to present their list of ideological demands and pet projects for the five-year cycle.
For the liberals, this includes defence, competitiveness, reduction of bureaucracy, protection of fundamental rights, climate action and immigration management.
“There is no blank check”Hayer said. “The Liberals’ political priorities must be incorporated into the Commission’s work program for the next five years.”
Before the decisive appointment, the President of the EPP, Manfred Weber, urged the chamber to support the candidate, respect the call system ‘top candidates’ and guarantee political continuity in a world plagued by crises.
ADVERTISING“If Ursula von der Leyen were to fail, we would run the risk of ending up in a Europe with a lot of instability“Weber told reporters Wednesday morning.
“If Ursula von der Leyen failed next week, there would be a happy man: Viktor Orbán. “And I don’t want to give this gift to Viktor Orbán.”
