STRASBOURG — The two biggest factions in the European Parliament want completely different things from Ursula von der Leyen's State of the Union speech on Wednesday. If she can't keep them both happy, the rift between these traditional centrist allies risks becoming a chasm as the far-right makes gains across the continent. The center-right wants von der Leyen to double down on the simplification drive of the past two years while further toughening the bloc’s stance on migration in the wake of the Ceuta crisis.
The center-left, meanwhile, wants a halt to what it calls the deregulation of EU green policies, and for von der Leyen to steer the center-right away from passing measures in the Parliament with far-right votes. However, the topic remains “a top issue for people,” Weber said last week ahead of a meeting with von der Leyen about the speech. In contrast to the S&D, the EPP also believes the 12 packages (known as omnibuses) put forward to simplify EU laws are “not enough,” according to Swedish EPP vice-chair Tomas Tobé.
Tough negotiations lie ahead over which of their lawmakers will be elected as the Parliament’s president in January, with the EPP wanting Roberta Metsola to stay in post and the S&D saying it's their turn to nominate the assembly's chief. Pressure is also growing for a broader grand bargain between the EPP and S&D — including trade-offs on the combustion-engine ban, carbon emissions, a beefed-up border and coast guard, and the EU budget — to settle their differences and keep out the far right. However, the EPP passing some laws to boost deportations and scrapping green requirements for businesses along with the far-right — despite sticking with centrist allies for most of the votes — has become a source of real tension in the Parliament.
In her letter to von der Leyen, García asked the Commission president to take a stance on the EPP’s votes with the far-right. "The time to choose is now." Von der Leyen is expected to focus on mitigating climate change after a summer of wildfires, while also addressing migration in the wake of the crisis in Ceuta, as she tries to bridge the demands from her allies. But even if she manages to strike the right balance, animosity could derail the debate, as was the case last year, when the debate after von der Leyen’s speech descended into a blistering attack by Weber on García and her S&D group.
Weber accused S&D — which had repeatedly criticized the EPP’s rightward drift while playing hardball on key files such as the EU-U.S. trade deal — of splitting the centrist alliance and “harming the European agenda.” A visibly furious García took the podium immediately after, thanking von der Leyen for “doing your best” to lay out a program that could please everyone.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
