Following the hearing with candidate for EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels yesterday, the S&D Group debated the proposals he has put forward and outlined their first impressions.

Commenting on the hearing, S&D president Gianni Pittella, said:

"A positive and useful but not yet fully satisfactory meeting. The negotiations are still far from finished.

"I want to thank Mr Juncker for his time and for his sincere answers to the questions we raised during the debate. We found common ground in our discussions, but now words must be translated into concrete proposals for action.
 
"We are glad to know that the next commissioner for economic and monetary affairs will be a member of the socialist and democrat family. This is good news indeed, however we also call for more clarity and detail on the so-called 'best use' of flexibility instruments set out in the Growth and Stability Pact.
 
"We are also satisfied with Juncker's commitment to ending the Troikas and replacing them with a more democratic and EU-led approach to tackling the economic and financial crisis."

Pittella continued by calling for more action on the S&D Group's key priorities:
 
"At the same time, we regret the lack of real action on the urgent problem of immigration, which requires more solidarity among member states. We need – and we continue to call for – a shared European approach to solve a shared European problem.
 
"We are also far from satisfied with Mr Juncker's remarks on foreign policy: these were too vague to be effective in turning Europe into a political giant and inadequate in responding to complicated and dangerous situations such as those in Ukraine and Syria.

"Finally, we also need more specific proposals on energy and environmental policy, and our Group is calling for clear targets to be set."

Pittella concluded with a look ahead to the vote in plenary next week:
 
"Negotiations have just started. We won't stop here. The S&D Group's final decision on whether to support Juncker has not yet been taken. We will continue our debate next week in Strasbourg ahead of the final vote on Tuesday."