At their meeting in Brussels today, the Socialists and Democrats elected Martin Schulz as new Group president to strengthen the Group's position in the forthcoming talks in nominating and electing the future EU Commission president.
Commenting on his election as S&D Group president, Martin Schulz said:
“I am very happy about the trust the S&D Group have shown me today. I know this Group very well and have worked with my colleagues here for it to become the pan-European and progressive force it is today.
“This election has given me the full backing of our MEPs – from 28 countries – to lead effectively in the negotiations for the future EU Commission president and their policy programme, as well as the future structure within the European Parliament.
“The S&D Group is the second largest political group in the Parliament and together we stand for a different, fairer and socially balanced Europe. We will continue our fight against the rule of harsh austerity in the EU and we will also focus on the fight against tax evasion. However, people also want to be able to trust Europe and their politicians. Making Europe more democratic and rebalancing its powers to make it more effective will be another priority for us.
“I would like to thank my predecessor Hannes Swoboda for the excellent work he did for our Group and Europe over the last two and a half years."
He concluded by calling on the EU Council to give Jean-Claude Juncker a mandate for EU Commission president:
"We must not delay a process which the people of Europe have voted on. Jean-Claude Juncker should be given a mandate to find a majority in the European Parliament, with a clear commitment from all democratic groups.
"However, our Group will only support a Commission president who is ready to take on the big challenges in the EU: ending austerity, tackling unemployment – especially among the young – curbing the rise in poverty and social exclusion, beating the tax cheats and making Europe competitive with more investment, modernised infrastructure and a more flexible interpretation of the Stability and Growth Pact."
“It is time to start working on the Europe of tomorrow we all need."
