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STRASBOURG — The hard-right European Parliament group led by Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy and Poland’s Law & Justice is divided on whether to support Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as European Commission president.
Von der Leyen spent 50 minutes answering questions from the European Conservatives and Reformists group in Strasbourg Tuesday morning, describing it as an “intense” discussion as she left the room. She faced questions about hybrid war threats from Russia as well as calls to change the Green Deal and to clamp down on illegal migration.
To get a second term, von der Leyen needs the support of 361 of the Parliament’s 720 MEPs in a vote scheduled for Thursday. ECR has 78 MEPs.
“It’s not a big secret … that there will be a split in the ECR group,” said Roberts Zīle, a senior Latvian MEP, who said he’s yet to make up his mind on which way to vote.
The biggest division in the ECR could be between the Poles, who are dead set against voting for von der Leyen, and the Italians, who may vote in favor.
At the behind-closed-doors meeting, Brothers of Italy MEP Carlo Fidanza pressed von der Leyen for a “radical change of pace” on the Green Deal and more clarity on her agricultural policy. He also praised her migration-curbing deals with Tunisia and Egypt, according to a press release that did not indicate how the 24 Italian MEPs will vote.
For and against
Italian Prime Minister Meloni abstained on voting for von der Leyen when national leaders had their say on EU top jobs last month. Abstaining in Thursday’s vote would be tantamount to voting against von der Leyen.
“Those who are in governments like Meloni, Brothers of Italy, my own party, ODS, back home, Flemish N-VA. I believe that they will be tempted to vote in favor, although it’s not still taken for granted,” said Jan Zahradil, a departing MEP from the Czech ODS party.
Zahradil added that those parts of ECR would need to win concessions from von der Leyen, for example on getting strong portfolios for the next Italian and Czech commissioners.
An ECR spokesperson said Friday that its Romanian, French and Polish delegations have already decided to vote no.
“Our vote will be for sure 100 percent against von der Leyen,” said Romanian AUR party lawmaker Gheorghe Piperea.
“Von der Leyen did a lot of bad things to Europe, and especially to Romania,” he charged, arguing that she has prioritized migrants over Europeans and that she has made Europe poorer. She appeared as a “perfect bureaucrat” and said “nothing” during her meeting with ECR, he added.
Piperea also demanded von der Leyen give “factual” explanations about her text messages with the CEO of Pfizer about buying Covid-19 vaccines, amid an ongoing investigation into potential criminal wrongdoing in the deal.
“To me that was Brussels talk, boring,” Law & Justice lawmaker Dominik Tarczyński said after Tuesday’s meeting, adding that von der Leyen employed the “language of the Brussels elites where there’s nothing concrete.”
“I was hoping to hear some new ideas for migration, new approach to Green Deal, there’s nothing new. There’s not [a] great idea how to fix the problem,” he said.
“Even if Italians will decide to vote in favor … not all of them [will],” he said. “Believe me, it’s not 100 percent sure she’s going to be elected.”
Other MEPs in the ECR group are still holding out.
“She has to stop the European ambition to create a kind of superstate,” said the group’s sole Dutch member, Bert-Jan Ruissen. “She has also to correct the Green Deal, which is far too ambitious.”
Sarah Wheaton and Giovanna Faggionato contributed reporting.
