Last week, between 16 and 19 July, the first plenary session of the newly elected European Parliament took place in Strasbourg. The Parliament re-elected Ursula von der Leyen as the European Commission President for the next five years with a comfortable majority. It re-elected its President, Roberta Metsola (EPP, Malta) with an overwhelming cross-party majority of 562 votes in favour, and chose to (re-)appoint its Vice-Presidents, including five Socialists and Democrats (S&D) Vice-Presidents (VPs), and three European People’s Party VPs.
The first plenary officially kickstarted the new legislative mandate that will last for the next 5 years, until 2029.
New groups and new strength
The new Parliament is composed of 720 seats, which is a slight increase of 15 seats compared to the previous one (after Brexit), in order to take account of demographic change. This is, however, not the only novelty this mandate. Two new far-right political groups were formed, namely Patriots for Europe (PfE) and Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN). In reality, this led to dissolution of Identity and Democracy (ID) as its members split between the two newly formed groups.
The creation of PfE was initiated by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (Fidesz), former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) and Austrian far-right leader Herbert Kickl (FPÖ). PfE absorbed all the former ID members, except those joining ESN, and welcomed Spain’s Vox, which left the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). ESN, on the other hand, was created out of necessity by German far-right AfD after its expulsion from the ID group due to reports of Nazi sympathising from its leadership. AfD together with Czech SPD formally announced the formation of a new group at the beginning of the month. ESN accounts for 25 members, making it the smallest group in the new Parliament.
With 84 seats, the PfE group comes ahead of the liberal Renew group as well as far-right ECR that respectively hold 77 and 78 seats, making it the third largest group in the new Parliament. The EPP, centre-right, remains the biggest group with 188 MEPs, followed by the S&D with 136 members. To counter the rise of the far-right party, which now roughly accounts for 25% of MEPs, a ‘cordon sanitaire’ was applied for the election of the Presidency and vice-Presidencies of the Parliament, and neither PfE nor ESN were able to secure positions. The cordon sanitaire however does not seem to apply to ECR, which was able to gain two vice-Presidencies.
The Parliament also re-elected Ursula von der Leyen as Commission President with 401 votes in favour, giving her a comfortable majority.
Priorities for the new mandate
While waiting for the official work programme of the new Commission, which is expected to take office in November this year, one can have a “wild” guess on what the new mandate will focus on.
At the end of June, the European Council published its Strategic Agenda, a document putting forward EU political priorities agreed by EU leaders. This high-level political document lists three priorities for the upcoming legislative mandate: (i) a free and democratic, (ii) strong and secure, as well as
(iii) prosperous and competitive Europe. The last target includes references to the green and digital transitions, calling for a stable and predictable framework. Priorities of the S&D, Renew, and the Green groups largely align with those pushed by the Council, as they call for upholding the rule of law, strengthening defence and security, and establishing a new “Industrial” Green Deal. The EPP, on the other hand, strayed a bit more to the right, as it asks for a pause on implementation of major Green Deal files, such as Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), placing competitiveness at the heart of their “5-point plan for a strong Europe”.
Given the Council and the Parliament groups’ priorities, and the new President’s speech in Strasbourg, three things are certain. First, Commissioner for Defence is a reality that Mrs von der Leyen announced in her speech, vouching to build a true European Defence Union. One more new Commissioner (Commissioner for Housing) has been announced. Second, a new Clean Industrial Deal, focusing on improving Europe’s competitiveness, will be put forward in the first 100 days of the new Commission. Last, but not least, the Green Deal will be retained as a policy prioritiy, but concentrating on implementation rather than new legislation.
Advocacy for the next five years
What does it all mean for European civil society and its fight for a better tomorrow? The Parliament’s shift to the right, and the increasing division of political forces regarding the Green Deal means that narratives will need to be adjusted to ensure an open dialogue with all policymakers. Yet, hope is not entirely gone. The EPP includes quite a few progressive and climate-friendly members that can turn into potential allies.
At this stage, the most important advocacy opportunities come with the hearings of the Commissioners-designate, which are scheduled for after the summer. This is where allied MEPs play a crucial role – especially those re-elected, who have a more senior position and will likely lead on the hearings. This is an opportunity for NGOs to ensure that the right questions are asked, and the right commitments from future Commissioners are secured.
As the new Commission will settle in, there will not be many legislative proposals coming in within the first months of office. This gives a great opportunity for MEPs to put forward ideas in the form of own-initiative (INI) reports, which could inspire the new Commission to revisit existing legislative instruments or propose new ones.
The first weeks of the new mandate are crucial to stay on top of developments and adjust advocacy strategies when needed.
If you are interested in knowing what other opportunities the first months of a new mandate present for your organisations, and how we help you navigate the next EU Commission and Parliament, please get in touch through the contact form.
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