EU: plenary in Strasbourg. Election of European Parliament and Commission Presidents

(Strasbourg) Tomorrow will mark the beginning of a decisive week for the work of the European Parliament, elected by universal suffrage on 6 to 9 June, and for the European Commission. Indeed, MEPs – who are arriving in the Alsatian city today – are due to vote for the election of the EP President from tomorrow morning. The most popular candidate is Malta’s Roberta Metsola, from the EPP, who has held the post since January 2022. Voting will then take place for the 14 Vice-Presidents, the Quaestors, and the formation of parliamentary committees. On Thursday, the President of the Commission will be elected. As is known, the European Council (Heads of State or Government), in late June, appointed Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen – also from the EPP Group – to succeed herself. But she now needs the European Parliament’s backing. At the opening of the sitting on Thursday, Von der Leyen will deliver a programmatic speech, which will be followed by the voting, whose outcome is still unpredictable. MEPs from the EPP, the Socialists and Democrats, and the Liberals are expected to back her, perhaps even the Greens: but there will certainly be defections from her own camp. To be elected, Von der Leyen must receive at least 361 votes, that is, half plus one of the 720 MEPs.
Gianni Borsa