The planned vote for the election of the new President of the European Parliament will take place next Tuesday[/B] without the physical presence of MEPs, decided on Thursday by the heads of the political groups ahead of the plenary session starting on Monday in Strasbourg, France.
The decision was taken for security reasons, due to the increased spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in several other European countries, including France.
Originally the vote was to take place in the semi-circle of the plenary on the basis of a decision by former President David Sassoli, who passed away in the early hours of Tuesday morning after months of health problems.
David Sassoli had stated that he would not seek a second term as President. The President's term of office is two and a half years (i.e. two terms per five-year term of the European Parliament) and there is a two-term limit.
The leadership of the European Parliament is being contested by Maltese MEP Roberta Metsola of the European People's Party, who as first vice-president currently chairs the body, Swedish Alice Bakunke of the Greens, Polish Kosma Złotowski of the European Conservatives and Reformists and Spanish Sira Rego of the Left Group.
The Social Democrats had considered running for the presidency with their political group leader, Spain's Iratse García Perret, thus breaking the informal agreement with the EPP to take the presidency on a rotating basis as part of the arrangement between member states and the Parliament following the 2019 European elections to fill the presidencies of the Commission, the European Council and other institutions (David Sassoli was part of the Social Democrats).
However, the Social Democrats are leaving open the question of which candidate they will support, having held meetings with both Metsola and Rego. The question of how the Liberal Group (Renew) will move forward remains open as members of the group have criticised Metsola for her conservative stance on abortion and gender equality.
The election of the President of the European Parliament requires an absolute majority of valid votes, i.e. 353 out of 705 MEPs if they all vote.
The election of the President of the European Parliament requires an absolute majority of valid votes, i.e. 353 out of 705 MEPs if they all vote. If there is no winner in the first round, the vote is repeated in a second or third round with the same or other candidates. If there is no result in the third round either, there is a fourth round of voting between the two candidates with the most votes in the third round.
Later on Tuesday and Wednesday, the votes for the presidency of the other members of Parliament's Bureau (i.e. the 14 vice-presidents and the five deans) and the composition of the parliamentary committees will follow.
Funeral and memorial service for Sassoli
David Sassoli's funeral takes place on Friday in Rome, attended by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and Parliament President Roberta Metsola on behalf of the institutions and Italian President Sergio Matarella, among others. Among the leaders attending will be the Greek President of the Republic, Catherine Sakellaropoulou.
On Monday afternoon, at the beginning of the plenary session, a commemoration ceremony for David Sassoli will be held in the European Parliament, attended by representatives of the institutions, French President Emmanuel Macron on behalf of the country holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU. Former Italian Prime Minister and former MEP Enrico Letta will speak about the deceased.
Among others, the Prime Ministers of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Luxembourg's Javier Betel and Italy's Mario Draghi will be in the plenary chamber in Strasbourg.
Cyprus will be represented by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Anita Demetriou.
Cyprus will be represented by the President of the House of Representatives Anita Demetriou. On behalf of the 27 members of the European Court of Auditors (ECA), the ceremony will be attended by the member of the Court from Cyprus, Lazaros Lazarou.
Source: Cyprus Times
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