Belgium (The Brussels Morning Newspaper), The newly elected European Parliament holds its constitutive session in Strasbourg this week, with the election of the new Commission president top of the agenda.
The first session of the new Parliament after the recent EU elections will be opened on Tuesday.
Parliament’s first act after its constitution is to elect its President for the next two-and-a-half years (half the legislature).
Eight MEPs will be selected as tellers to oversee the election, scheduled on Tuesday and held by secret paper ballot. To be elected, a candidate must win an absolute majority of the valid votes cast – that is, 50% plus one.
After the election of the President, MEPs will elect the rest of the members of Parliament’s Bureau: 14 Vice-Presidents and five Quaestors.
Parliament will vote on the numerical composition of its standing committees and subcommittees as well as its inter parliamentary delegations.
Committee nominations will be decided by the political groups and announced in plenary at the end of the week.
The committees will convene the following week for their constitutive meetings to elect their Chairs and Vice-Chairs.
On Thursday comes the highlight of the week when the Parliament will decide whether to endorse Ursula von der Leyen for the Presidency of the European Commission.
The former German defence minister will address Parliament’s plenary and outline her vision and plans for the next five years, followed by a debate with MEPs.
She is expected to be firmly backed to serve another term but MEPs will be keen to hear how she reacts to the attempted assassination attack on Donald Trump and other challenges such as Ukraine and Russia.
The vote by secret paper ballot will take place after the debate. To be elected, she needs an absolute majority (50% plus one) of Parliament’s component members.
On Wednesday morning, political group leaders will make statements on the need for the EU’s continuous support for Ukraine, followed by a vote on a resolution.
The week kicks off on Monday when EU President Roberta Metsola participates in the EU flag-raising ceremony.
