The S&D group in the EU Parliament chooses Laureti as first Vice President: “United against nationalist forces”

Brussels – No Presidency, but the first Vice-Presidency for the time being: the Democratic Party takes home the second most important post within the group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the EU Parliament, having European MP Camilla Laureti elected as the first Deputy to President Iratxe García Pérez, who was confirmed yesterday (June 25) at the group’s first round of the constituent meeting. “My first intention, also shared with the PD delegation, is to contribute to the unity and strength of the S&D group,” are Laureti’s first words in her new institutional capacity within the European family of Social Democrats: “Our group can and will be a fundamental force in shaping the future of Europe.”

Laureti’s appointment came this morning (June 26) during the second round of the group’s constituent meeting, which had on its agenda the election of the nine Vice Presidents and the new Treasurer, who will be Finland’s Eero Heinäluoma. Along with the Pd MEP – confirmed in the June 6-9 European elections after joining in early 2022 following the death of former European Parliament president David Sassoli – the bureau will also include Mohammed Chahim of the Netherlands, Germany’s Gaby Bischoff, France’s Christophe Clergeau, Portugal’s Ana Catarina Mendes, Belgium’s Kathleen Van Brempt, Greece’s Ioannis Maniatis, Sweden’s Heléne Fritzon and Malta’s Alex Agius Saliba.

“In a world in turmoil, we stand at a crucial juncture in the history of the Union,” Laureti stressed in her remarks, recalling that “the mandate that is about to begin will see the right, and others, attacking the Green Deal, calling for weakening the social and green dimension of the Common Agricultural Policy, demanding less public investment and more liberalization in the name of competitiveness.” However, the S&D agenda “is different” and is based on “a different idea of Europe,” namely that “of Altiero Spinelli, Ursula Hirschmann, Jacques Delors.” That is why the Italian MEP called for unity “if we want to lead the fight against nationalist and far-right forces,” already starting “from the beginning of this mandate, in the current difficult scenario of Orbán’s presidency” of the Council of the EU, which kicks off on July 1 (until December 31).

The President the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Parliament, Iratxe García Pérez (June 25, 2024)

With 21 MEPs elected, the Italian Democratic Party delegation is the most numerous within the S&D Group (136 members), ahead of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (20). However, the PD decided not to propose any candidate for the group’s Presidency, with the negotiations being handled directly by the Secretary, Elly Schlein, between Rome and Brussels (where she personally met García Pérez on June 21). On the sidelines of yesterday’s meeting, the PD’s head of delegation, Brando Benifei, announced that Schlein had wrested a “clear, transparent, and public” agreement, thanks to which by mid-term (beginning 2027) “one of the top jobs of the Parliament” will be up to the Democratic Party. Either the presidency of the European Parliament – which in two and a half years is expected to pass from the Populars to the Socialists – or the group’s leadership, in a hypothetical relay to the leadership of the Social Democrats at the turn of the tenth legislature.