At an internal meeting held in Bristol on 23 and 24 June, the European Liberals decided to vote against holding the Barroso vote on 15 July, party sources said. It appeared that this was the minimal level of agreement that the group could reach, as in fact the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) is seriously divided between supporters and opponents of having the outgoing Commission president reappointed for another five years.
The sources added that the French ALDE-affiliated MoDem, led by François Bayrou (six MEPs), and more importantly the German FDP, with its 12 MEPs, as well as some of the 11 British Liberal Democrats strongly oppose Barroso and do not want a vote on 15 July.
On 9 July, the European Parliament's conference of presidents will vote on whether to hold the secret vote on Barroso in mid-July, as the centre-right has been insisting for several months now (EurActiv 20/03/09), the group's chair Joseph Daul told journalists on Wednesday (24 June). The decision in the conference of presidents is taken by simple vote, representing the number of MEPs within each group: the EPP can count on 264 votes, as well as on the support of the newly formed anti-federalist group (EurActiv 23/06/09), which has 56 MEPs, Daul indicated.
Parliament presidency as bargaining chip
But this total of 320 MEPS falls short of the simple majority of 368 votes required to back Barroso. Therefore the EPP will invite, in separate moves, the centre-left Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in Europe (PASDE) and ALDE to join. In exchange, it would offer its support for the European Parliament presidency for a two-and-a half year period, starting in 2012, to be held by a representative of the political group which agrees to the deal, Daul explained.
For this, a "technical agreement" was needed, like those seen on previous occasions, he added.
"If there is an agreement […] they will have the [European Parliament] presidency in two-and-a-half years. But for the first two-and-a half years, the EPP will claim the presidency," he said.
Daul acknowledged that his group was still divided over whether to push for Italy's Mario Mauro or Poland's Jerzy Buzek to take the Parliament's top chair (EurActiv 26/03/09). He added that the problem would be solved by holding an internal secret vote on 7 July.
On 30 June, when the EPP starts its consultations, ALDE will convene to elect Belgium's former Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt as its group leader. Verhofstadt is also seen as a possible alternative candidate for the presidency of the Commission, should the EPP fail to secure enough support for Barroso (EurActiv 10/06/09).
Swedish invitation rejected
The upcoming Swedish EU Presidency invited the presidents of the European Parliament political groups to Stockholm this week, but the exercise was aborted, sources told EurActiv. Daul found an "excuse" not to go, the leader of the centre-left group Martin Schulz refused to, and the Liberals could not accept the invitation as they have not yet elected their new leader.
It remains unclear why the Swedish Presidency invited the players to Stockholm instead of holding the meeting to Brussels, diplomats told EurActiv. It is even more strange that Barroso has not made appointments with the parliamentary group leaders, at least to take note of their expectations of the Commission during the next term, they added.
In the meantime, Sweden renewed its invitation to come to Stockholm for consultations, this time on 7 July, EurActiv has learned.
