Martin Schultz was yesterday re-elected president of the European Parliament for the next two-and-a-half years following a compromise deal struck between the two major political groups in the EP.
As newly elected MEPs gathered for their first plenary session of the new legislature in Strasbourg, Mr Schultz won the majority of votes – 409 out of 723 – against three other candidates.
Besides the support of his group’s MEPs, the Socialists and Democrats, he also had the backing of the largest group in the EP, the European People’s Party. The other candidates came from the Greens, the European Conservatives and the European United Left.
He is the first president in the history of the Parliament to be re-elected for a second mandate
Mr Schultz has already occupied the top post in the EP for two-and-a-half years and is the first president in the history of the Parliament to be re-elected for a second mandate.
He had been eyeing the presidency of the European Commission but that post will now go to the EPP’s candidate, former Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, after his group won the majority of seats in the chamber at the last European elections.
As a result of the compromise struck between the two major political groups, the EPP is expected to take over the presidency of the EP for the second half of the five-year legislature.
Meanwhile, the EP is now expected to focus on the election of its 20 committees.
The three PN MEPs have already negotiated their posts during internal talks within their group.
According to David Casa, the PN’s head of delegation, the Maltese MEPs managed to secure their preferred committees.
While Mr Casa will sit on the committee on employment and social affairs and act as a substitute on the committee on economic and monetary affairs, Roberta Metsola will be a member of the committees on civil liberties and on petitions while acting as a substitute for the committee on internal market and consumer protection.
Theresa Comodini Cachia will be a member of the committee on legal affairs and a substitute on the committee on culture and education.
The committees assigned to the three Labour MEPs are still to be announced.