Italy’s Antonio Tajani poised to lead European Union parliament
STRASBOURG, France: Italy’s Antonio Tajani, an ally of former premier Silvio Berlusconi, moved closer to being elected the new European Parliament president on Tuesday after two key groups formed a “pro-European” alliance against rising populism.
The vote for the new chief of the EU’s only elected assembly will be closely watched in European capitals, including London, as it the parliament that will have a final say on any eventual Brexit deal.
The 63-year-old centre-right politician comfortably won the first round of voting with 274 ballots but failed to secure a majority in the 751seat parliament based in Strasbourg, France. The silver-haired Tajani is a former European commissioner who has faced criticism over the Volkswagen “Dieselgate” emissions scandal and previously served as spokesman for scandal-plagued Berlusconi. If confirmed, he will replace Germany’s Martin Schulz, a socialist who during five years in office made the office of European Parliament president far more prominent than it had ever been before.
Early on Tuesday the head of the parliament’s Liberal group, former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt, pulled out of the race and threw his support behind Tajani, the candidate of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) grouping.
“It is absolutely necessary. With Trump, with Putin, with many other challenges Europe faces, it is key we cooperate to reform our union,” said Verhofstadt. The deal secures Verhofstadt’s important role as parliament’s chief negotiator in talks over Britain’s departure from the European Union. EPP party chief Manfred Weber said: “Our partnership is based on content and on reforms for Europe.”
The coalition agreement struck between the two groups calls for a European defence force at a time when US President Donald Trump has cast doubt on the future of the US-led Nato alliance.
It also calls for the European Parliament to have “full involvement” in the negotiations over Britain’s exit from the EU after its shock referendum vote in June last year.
The new alliance comes after a decades-old “grand coalition” between the centre-right and the socialists — under which they rotated the post of parliament chief between them — broke down.