The EPP won the European elections, the voters voted for a centre-right Europe in the next five years, we cannot continue as if nothing had happened; the new leaders of the EU institutions, who will now be designated and elected, will have to reflect this new reality, and in any case the “leading candidate” (“Spitzenkandidatin”) of the People’s Party, Ursula von der Leyen, will have to be reconfirmed as president of the European Commission.
This is what he saidin a nutshell, the president of the EPP Manfred Weber, speaking to journalists upon his arrival at the first meeting of the group after the European elections, in which several new MEPs elected not only on the national lists belonging to the EPP, but also on lists that were not part of it, and have now asked to join it, like the Danish Liberal Alliance and the Hungarian opposition party Tisza.
“We have a great team, we have many colleagues elected on the basis of the EPP lists, and today we will expand the group, many independently elected colleagues are knocking on our door, they want to join the EPP group, and I am happy about that,” Weber said. We have a party in Denmark for example, and we also have the Hungarian opposition party (Tisza, ed.). They want to join the EPP group, and this is a great package with people from different parts of the political landscape. They see the EPP as the ideal place to truly realize the future of Europe.”
When asked which positions the Hungarian Tisza party will have to guarantee to join the group, the EPP president replied: “Last week I met in Budapest with the representatives now elected to the European Parliament on the Tisza list. First of all I want to congratulate them, they had 30% of the votes and now they have seven MEPs: it is a strong result, it is a clear message from the Hungarian citizens, who also want to have another face, alongside the perspective of Fidesz, to be in the European Parliament and defending Hungarian interests. I have seen many qualified people, well qualified to do this job, and that is why I tell the group once again that I support the entry of these people into the EPP family.”
“We have to keep in mind – Weber specified – that we also have concerns about the developments underway in Hungary, regarding the rule of law and the fight against corruption. It is nice to see that the party that puts these points on the table, and that asks the questions that need to be asked in Hungary, now joins the EPP, which is the European party of the rule of law and the fight against corruption.”
Regarding yesterday’s EU summit, which ended without the leaders agreeing on the names of the candidates for the new EU leaders, Weber noted: “I am happy with the outcome of yesterday’s European Council, because we already have an agreement that Ursula von der Leyen will not be contested. So there is a good understanding that Ursula von der Leyen has done a very good job over the last five years. Our EPP proposal, our EPP lead candidate, gets the support of the European Council. It’s something I’m happy about, and it’s already providing stability” to Europe.
Furthermore, added the EPP president, “we have already found an agreement on other names, proposed by the Socialists, with Antonio Costa (the former Portuguese prime minister, ed.), and by the liberals, with Kaja Kallas” the Estonian prime minister, respectively candidates for the presidency of the European Council and as High Representative for the EU’s common foreign policy. “This is already an important step, because now we have clarity from these two parties. This is a good basis, now on the table, for further negotiations that will take place in the coming days,” Weber noted.
“The starting point of the European Council – observed the president of the EPP – it is first and foremost a message of stability: the fact that we want to find a common understanding and that we are committed to defending the interests of citizens. I want to make sure it is clear that all personality arrangements” for the new EU summits “must be based on a programme. People want to see change. People want to see another face of Europe. It is for a center-right Europe that the citizens voted,” underlined Weber.
“The liberals and the greens too – he noted – they are the big losers of these elections. This is why it is clear that the political direction of the next five years is that of a centre-right Europe. And all personalities proposed for one of the EU positions must reflect on this. There is no possibility of continuing as if nothing had happened. The voters told us what to do, and now we all have to respect that.”
To a journalist who asked whether yesterday, finally, French President Emmanuel Macron also agreed to implement the “Spitzenkandidaten” process, which he has always said he was against, and whether he therefore declared himself in agreement with the designation of Ursula von der Leyen as candidate to the presidency of the Commission, Weber replied: “This must be asked of Macron. I can only assess that in yesterday’s Council meeting there was broad and overwhelming support for Ursula von der Leyen, and this is creating a lot of stability. The EPP won the elections and our main candidate will become president of the Commission,” he concluded.
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