The president of the European Commission demonstrated this position during the first debate between candidates for the institution’s presidency.
Ursula von der Leyen admitted to cooperating with the far-right and radical right-wing Group of European Conservatives and Reformists in the first debate between candidates for the head of the European Commission held on Monday in Maastricht, in the Netherlands.
REUTERS/Johanna Geron
The president of the European Commission said that this “will depend a lot on the composition of the European Parliament and who is represented in each group” in response to a question raised by the Green candidate, the Dutchman Bas Eickhout, who was shocked by von der Leyen.The candidate of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, the Luxembourger Nicolas Schmit, retorted to the current president of the Commission and candidate of the European People’s Party, that “values and rights cannot be divided according to certain political arrangements”. Schmit, who is the European Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, also said that “either you collaborate with the extreme right because you need them or you clearly state that there is no agreement possible because they do not respect the fundamental rights you have fought our Commission”. The European Conservatives and Reformists represent the third largest group in the European Parliament, with 70 deputies from 15 countries, and include, in particular, the Brothers of Italy, of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Vox, of Spain, and the Law and Justice party , from Poland, and were not represented in the debate as they did not present a candidate for the presidency of the Commission. The candidate of the Identity and Democracy Group, the Danish Anders Vistisen, addressed von der Leyen using an expression typical of Donald Trump when declaring “it is time to drain the Brussels swamp” and stated that, when the party wins the elections, the German president will be “the first to run”. Von der Leyen explicitly refused agreements with the Identity and Democracy Group (59 MEPs from eight countries), in which the National Convergence, by French Marine Le Pen, the Alternative for Germany, and Lega per Salvini Premier, by Matteo, participate. Salvini, vice-president of the Rome government, and the Austrian Freedom Party.André Ventura announced that Chega will join the Identity and Democracy Group after the June 9 elections. The European People’s Party, to which the PSD and CDS belong, is the largest group in the European Parliament (177 deputies), followed by the European Socialist Party, which includes Portuguese socialists, including its Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats with 140 MEPs. The debate – organized by the information website POLITICO Europe, from Brussels, and Studio Europa Maastricht, a Dutch debate center – in which representatives of eight of the ten parties in the European Parliament participated informally opened the campaign of the so-called Spitzenkandidaten (leading candidates, in German) nominated by European parties ahead of the European elections that will take place between 6 and 9 June. Ursula Von der Leyen, the first woman to head the Commission since the creation of the European Economic Community in 1957, is favorite to renew the mandate that began in 2019, but needs to be nominated for the position by the heads of state and government of the 27 and the favorable vote of the majority of the 720 MEPs, which implies political agreements between the different parties. Since the entry into force of the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, the European Parliament has had the power to elect the President of the Commission, and is also responsible for approving the Commissioners appointed by the Member States. Spitzenkandidaten have been appointed by European parties since 2014. Luxembourger Jean-Claude Juncker was the first Spitzenkandidat to assume the presidency of the Commission, after the victory of the European People’s Party, with 422 votes in favor and 250 against, in the vote held in July. In 2019, the European People’s Party was once again the party with the most votes, but its Spitzenkandidat, Manfred Weber, failed to achieve a majority in the European Parliament. Angela Merkel’s then Defense Minister emerged as a compromise candidate and was elected with 383 votes in favor and 327 against, just 9 votes more than the 374 then needed. Polls on voting intentions in the 27 point to a victory for the European People’s Party, ahead of socialists and social democrats, and a strong increase in votes for radical right and extreme right parties.
Newsessentials Blog 
Posted on April 30, 2024
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