Last week’s key events in the European Parliament were highlighted by health and food reporter Marta Iraola Iribarren. The week began with an informal meeting of justice and home affairs ministers in Budapest and continued with important decisions being made in Strasbourg. It was announced that Ursula von der Leyen will continue as head of the European Commission for the next five years, while Roberta Metsola will lead the Parliament for the first two-and-a-half years of the mandate. Additionally, the chairs of the Parliament’s committees are set to be elected, with each chair having a two-and-a-half-year mandate to set the agenda and coordinate the work with other committees. There may be amendments to the rules of procedure in September that could give committee chairs more influence in inter-institutional negotiations. Ongoing negotiations are also expected to promote the Security and Defence and Public Health subcommittees to stand-alone committees with full legislative powers.
There are key decisions to watch out for in relation to the Patriots of Europe group, which is expected to be subject to a cordon sanitaire and may lose chairs of the Transport and Tourism and Culture and Education committees. The roles could be allocated elsewhere, with the EPP likely to take TRAN and the Greens to take CULT. The EPP and S&D are expected to chair the two largest committees, Industry, Research and Energy and Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee, with 90 members each. While there were initial predictions on who would lead the committees, the final decisions are yet to be made and there may still be some last-minute surprises. Various parliamentary groups have provisionally chosen the committees they are interested in and would like to chair, but the picture is expected to change as final decisions are made.
The first parliamentary brawl of the newly elected European Parliament occurred during last week’s opening plenary session. The Freedom Party of Austria’s Georg Mayer criticized Italian MEP Ilaria Salis, who spent time in detention and house arrest after being accused of assaulting far-right demonstrators in Hungary. This led to a heated debate in which Mayer raised concerns about Salis and her staff possibly smuggling weapons into the Parliament. Manon Aubry, co-chair of Salis’ Left group, responded by accusing the far right of attacking those who stand up for the defense of human rights. The incident highlighted the tension and differences within the Parliament, setting the tone for future debates and discussions.
Overall, the European Parliament is currently in a crucial period of decision-making and leadership selection. With important positions such as committee chairs being finalized, there is anticipation for the announcement of key roles. The upcoming meeting on 23 July to elect the chairs of the Parliament’s committees will be a significant moment in shaping the agenda and coordinating legislative work. The possibility of amendments to the rules of procedure in September could also impact the influence of committee chairs in negotiations. As the political landscape continues to evolve, it will be essential to monitor the developments and decisions being made in the European Parliament to understand the direction of policies and initiatives in the region.
