President Ursula von der Leyen has postponed the presentation of the new Commission scheduled for Tuesday, September 11, to September 17 at 9:00 am in Strasbourg.
Schlein: ‘We have always supported a significant portfolio for Italy’
“We expect and have always supported a significant portfolio for Italy, as it is a founding member of the EU. It is equally clear that in the overall proposal by President von der Leyen, she must take into account the majority that voted for her in the European Parliament,” said Elly Schlein, Secretary of the Democratic Party, during the launch of her book ‘Imprevista’ in Rome. “We expect – she added – consistency in the proposal with the majority that voted for Ursula von der Leyen in Parliament and also with the programmatic framework she committed to in her inauguration speech.”
EU Socialists: ‘Commission should reflect the majority in European Parliament’
“Strengthening the Spitzenkandidat process, ensuring gender balance, a strong focus on social rights supervised by an experienced figure, and a fair distribution of executive vice-president positions that reflect the majority of the European Parliament. These are the expectations of the progressive European family for the composition of the next European Commission,” highlighted the group of EU Socialists, emphasizing that “if these expectations are not met, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to support the commissioners presented by Ursula von der Leyen.”
PD at the EP: ‘We will evaluate Fitto without bias’
“Fitto will be evaluated without any bias, but it is necessary that he sends clear signals of European commitment in his presentation,” explained parliamentary sources from the Democratic Party in Brussels. The PD also confirmed that “the Italian delegation did not raise the Fitto issue” at the meeting of the EU Socialists’ group. It had emerged in recent days that the French and German delegations were among the first to raise the issue of the executive vice-president role to be given to Minister Raffaele Fitto.
Zingaretti, Fitto? Welcome a significant role for Italy
“We at the PD have always hoped that Italy has the weight it deserves as a founding member country. On this issue, we have not changed our minds and we will not change them,” said Nicola Zingaretti, head of the Democratic Party delegation, speaking to the press in Brussels. “Regarding the PSE, the European socialists play the role that a large group of the European left should play, asking for consistency with the program presented by von der Leyen a few months ago,” Zingaretti explained. “The PSE’s call concerns the entire balance of the commission; we will judge Fitto without prejudice,” he concluded.
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