Buzek was elected in the first round of voting with a comfortable majority of 555 votes against the 89 cast for Swedish MEP Eva-Britt Svensson of the GUE/NGL group.
His election in Strasbourg was described as "historic" by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, as Buzek becomes the first politician to represent one of the former communist states of Central and Eastern Europe.
Others described the election as a "symbolic breakthrough" and a "proud moment for Poland".
Speaking to the new Parliament, Buzek said his election sent a "strong signal" to countries that joined the EU in 2004, describing it as a "homage to the millions of citizens who made the Iron Curtain fall down".
For the next five years, he added, there will be "no more 'us' [Central Europe] and 'you' [Western Europe], but one Europe".
The new president and former prime minister is seen as a man who values compromise and discussion, reports EurActiv Poland. He was indeed supported by both the ruling liberal Civic Platform party and Polish President Lech Kaczyński, who hails from the conservative Law and Justice party, currently the country's strongest opposition force.
Buzek will take the Parliament's top chair for two-and-a-half years, followed by "a member appointed by the [Socialist] S&D group for the second half of the legislature," according to a joint statement by the leaders of the Parliament's three largest political groups – the centre-right EPP, the Socialists and the Liberals.
Critics say Poland should have aimed higher
On the whole, the news was warmly received by the Polish political establishment in Warsaw and Brussels, with a few notable reservations.
One Polish official in the European Parliament told EurActiv that a majority of Poles would celebrate Buzek's appointment as a reflection of the country's growing influence in the EU.
But others might be disappointed, the official warned. "Some in Poland are wondering why we fought for the European Parliament presidency – a representative and symbolic position – when it would have been better to fight for a key post in the Commission, for example."
A majority of political analysts in Poland feel that Jacek Saryusz-Wolski would have been a better choice, a position repeated to EurActiv by various voices in the corridors of the Parliament, who argue that the latter is "a better speaker, better known and a real heavyweight".
However, the Polish source added that the symbolic power of Buzek's election will not have been lost on the Warsaw establishment, who understand that "representative positions can sometimes be better than powerful ones".
"Everywhere he went, Hans Gert-Pöttering was welcomed as the German president of the EP. Now it will be the Polish president of the EP, and EU citizens will be more interested in Poland and new member states," she added.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed concern that "some in Poland think that Buzek's candidacy will discredit Polish chances of getting a key position in the new European Commission".
On the contrary, Tusk claimed, Buzek's election as president would "reinforce Poland's position" and strengthen the government's hand when negotiating with other EU leaders for the new Commission 'top jobs'.
New vice-presidents complete the picture
This afternoon and tomorrow it will be the turn of the Parliament's 14 new vice-presidents to be elected. Based on June's election results, the new legislature is expected to feature the following division of VP jobs, the names of which have been obtained by EurActiv in Strasbourg:
- European People's Party (EPP), five VPs: Roberta Angelilli (Italy), Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaroupoulou (Greece), Pal Schmitt (Hungary), Alejo Vidal-Quadras (Spain), Rainer Wieland (Germany).
- Alliance of Socialists (SD), five VPs: Dagmar Roth-Behrendt (Germany), Miguel Angel Martinez Martinez (Spain), Giovanni Pittella (Italy), Stavros Lambrinidis (Greece), Libor Roucek (Czech Republic).
- Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), two VPs: Silvana Koch Mehrin (Germany), Diana Wallis (UK).
- European Greens, one VP: Isabelle Durant (Belgium).
- European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), one VP: Michal Kaminski (Poland).
- In an intriguing development, EurActiv has learned that British Conservative MEP Edward MacMillan-Scott of the ECR group has succeeded in collecting the required 40 MEP signatures to present himself as an independent VP candidate. As a result, there are 15 candidates for 14 VP positions, with final votes expected tomorrow (15 July).
