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20
Dec

Plus ça change… internal battles mark French parties’ MEP selections

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Every French political party is naming its candidates for the European Parliament elections – but most seem fixated on in-fighting rather than battling for voters’ support.

This is nothing new: in 2009, Gilles Savary, a Socialist Party (PS) MEP who had been in the European Parliament for ten years, was booted off the PS list in favour of Vincent Peillon (now France’s Education Minister).

However, this time the political scheming in the main parties could be more damaging: the far-right National Front (FN) is set to win nearly a quarter of the vote according to a recent poll, and will happily to see the other parties tear themselves apart.

See our lists of French candidates for the European Parliament election

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29
Nov

Party games: the Parliament and its post-election musical chairs

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Six months away from the European Parliament elections, the first serious set of predictions are being made.

Notre Europe – Jacques Delors Institute, a Paris-based think-tank, has recently published a must-read policy paper in which it predicts that the centre-left Socialists & Democrats Group (S&D) will oust the centre-right European People’s Party Group (EPP) as the largest group in the new Parliament.

And in February, Burson-Marsteller Brussels will support the launch – as part of Europe Decides – of PollWatch, a VoteWatch Europe project that will take an in-depth and regular look at opinion polls and the likely composition of the new assembly.

However, the election results are only part of the story. Post-election horse-trading and haggling plays a key role in determining the final composition of the groups and – significantly this time – the creation of a majority to back the appointment of a new President of the European Commission.

Political positioning and the distribution of key roles (such as committee chairs or group spokespeople) may help sway the decisions of national party delegations on where to sit.

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26
Nov

Finnish parties name candidates

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Finnish voters are beginning to get a clearer picture of their choice in the European Parliament election as more parties named their candidates.

On Sunday, the Centre Party (Suomen Keskusta, Kesk) named 17 candidates. They include current MEPs Anneli Jäätteenmäki and Hannu Takkula, as well as a former editor of a leading daily newspaper and the Centre Party’s most famous Eurosceptic.

67-year-old former party leader Paavo Väyrynen told delegates that, two years after being voted out of office, he had returned from his ‘sabbatical’ and was ready to fight the election. Väyrynen has been Finland’s foreign minister four times, and once spoke for more than four hours in the Finnish parliament in an attempt to scupper the vote on the country’s accession to the EU.

“I may be getting on a bit”, he told his party on Saturday, “but as far as what’s happened to the EU, I predicted the whole thing.”

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15
Nov

Europe Decides Weekly – 15 November

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Read more in Europe Decides Weekly, 15 November 2013

Top stories: 9-15 November 2013

  • The Green Primary has begun: Four candidates have received support from at least four European Green parties and will now participate in the EU-wide primary election. The candidates are José Bové, MEP for France’s Europe Ecologie / Les Verts, Monica Frassoni, European Green Party co-chair since 2009, Rebecca Harms, co-president of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament, and Ska Keller, Green MEP for Germany’s Bündnis 90/Die Grünen. The European Greens have invited anyone who is at least 16 years of age, shares Green values and resides in the EU to vote online for two of the four candidates. Green Party; Europolitics; EurActiv; EU Observer; European Voice; European Greens; Euronews; Grimsby Telegraph; Primary Launch Video
  • Far right forms EU alliance: French National Front MEP Marine Le Pen and Dutch MP Geert Wilders met in The Hague on Wednesday to forge a far-right alliance in the run up to the European Parliament elections. Wilders and Le Pen have invited a range of parties to join them but Ukip leader Nigel Farage has rebuffed their approach. Deutsche Welle; EurActiv; New Europe; Press Europ; BBC News; Economist; Financial Times; EU Observer; EU Business; Euronews; ITV; Reuters; The Guardian; Telegraph; Independent; France 24; Scotsman; Press TV; UT San Diego; New Zealand Herald; Appeal-Democrat; Ventury County Star; Star Tribune; RFI; Gulf Times; Wall Street Journal

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13
Nov

Le Pen’s rise: shockwaves in France and Europe?

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Rightly or wrongly, France – like most European Union member countries – does not tend to get very excited about the European Parliament elections.

However, the 2014 vote will be different. Not only do the elections take place soon after what should be keenly-contested local polls, they are also seen as a potential milestone in the rise of the National Front (FN).

In October, a poll by IFOP – the oldest pollster in France – for left-leaning news magazine Le Nouvel Observateur suggested that the FN would win the European Parliament election in France with 24% of the vote. The centre-right Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) was just behind, with 22%, and the Socialist Party (PS) of the current President of the Republic, François Hollande, was in third place, on 19%.

With the FN having achieved only 6.3% in the last European elections, this is a major leap forward for the party and its leader, Marine Le Pen (who is one of the FN’s three MEPs, along with her father and the former party leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen, and Bruno Gollnisch).

The poll had a seismic effect on the French media and French politics – especially given that just a few days later the FN won a local by-election in Brignoles, in the South-East of France. This victory – in the second round of a two-round election (a system that usually works against the FN) – was another sign of the party’s progress under Marine Le Pen.

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05
Nov

Dutch Christian Democrats select candidates

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The Dutch Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party, which sits in the Group of the European People’s Party in the European Parliament, has selected its candidates for the European Parliament elections.

The list, headed by Esther de Lange MEP, features two other current MEPs: Wim van de Camp, who stood against de Lange for the right to lead the list, is in third position, and Lambert van Nistelrooij is in ninth position.

The full list is available here.

 

03
Nov

Dutch parties select heads of lists

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Three Dutch parties have selected the heads of their lists for the European Parliament elections.

Sophie in ‘t Veld will lead the list for Democrats 66, which sits in the Liberal ALDE Group in the European Parliament. She won an internal election against fellow MEP Marietje Schaake by a margin of three to two. Around 20 per cent of D66 members voted. You can read our blog on the election here.

Members of Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) – which sits in the European People’s Party Group – chose Esther de Lange to head the party’s list. De Lange is 38 and first became an MEP in 2007. She defeated fellow MEP Wim van de Camp, taking just over 60 per cent of the vote.

Toine Manders, who had been an MEP for the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) from 1999 until last month, has been selected as head of the list for the 50PLUS party. Manders now sits as an independent member of the ALDE Group.

Meanwhile, the race to lead the Labour Party (PvdA) list for the elections is hotting up, with four candidates – Robbert Baruch, Bernard Naron, Zita Schellekens and Paul Tang – in the running. The selection process ends at the end of the month. The PvDA sits in the Socialists & Democrats Group.

 

21
Oct

Belgian Greens pick Lamberts and Sweden’s Moderates back Hökmark

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Parties in Belgium and Sweden have named candidates for the European Parliament elections in May:

 

Belgium

Philippe Lamberts MEP will lead the list for Ecolo, the Francophone Green party (which sits in the Greens / European Free Alliance Group). He won 325 votes from members at a congress in Mons, while his rival – current European Parliament vice-president Isabelle Durant – took 270 votes. Having missed out on first place, Isabelle Durant decided not to stand.

Saskia Bricmont will be second on the list, while the two substitute candidates will be Caroline Saal and Hajib El Hajjaji.

 

Sweden

Sweden’s Moderate Party has selected its candidates, with Gunnar Hökmark MEP – the delegation leader – taking first place, followed by fellow MEPs Christopher Fjellner and Anna Maria Corazza Bildt. Carl-Oskar Bohlin, who favours more limited powers for the EU, will be fourth. Cecilie Tenfjord-Toftby will also be a (more pro-European) candidate. The Moderates, who sit in the EPP Group, currently have four seats.

 

Click here for our European Parliament elections candidates lists

 

11
Oct

Europe Decides Weekly – 11 October

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Read more in Europe Decides Weekly, 11 October 2013

Top stories: 5-11 October 2013

  • EPP founding father Wilfried Martens dies: The former Belgian prime minister and President of the European People’s Party, Wilfried Martens, passed away during the night of 9 October. He was 77 years old. Martens had handed over his duties as EPP leader to Joseph Daul, EPP Group chair, on 8 October, due to his deteriorating health. He will receive a state funeral on Saturday 19 October in the Saint Bavo cathedral in Ghent. The Parliament.com; EU Business; New Europe; EurActiv; European Voice; EPP; ALDE Group; ALDE; PES; European Greens; AECR; Statement by Herman Van Rompuy
  • Socialists & Democrats endorse Schulz’s application as candidate for Commission presidency: On 9 October the S&D Group endorsed the application of European Parliament president Martin Schulz to be the Party of European Socialists’ candidate to be European Commission president. Schulz has been nominated by his German party, the SPD, and backed by the French Socialist Party and the S&D group. S&D; Europolitics
  • Polls in France suggest victory for far right: France’s National Front party has come out top in a poll of how French voters intend to cast their ballot in next year’s EU elections. The magazine that carried out the survey, Le Nouvel Observateur, remarks that the poll is “of course not a prediction. But it describes a new reality in French political life.” EU Observer; EurActiv; Telegraph; The Corner; Euronews; The Guardian

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03
Oct

Candidates jockey for position ahead of 2014 changes

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Across Europe, election lists are taking shape and the contenders for the principal jobs are jockeying for position. Here are some of the highlights:

 

France

Pascal Canfin, the current junior minister for development, has decided not to lead the European Parliament elections list for Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV). The current party leader, Pascal Durand, will lead the list instead, and will not contest the party leadership at the next vote in November. (Nouvel Observateur)

 

Italy

Franco Frattini, a former European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security, will be Italy’s candidate to be the next Secretary-General of Nato. There are rumours that the current Commission President – José Manuel Barroso – will also be a candidate for this post. (Le Monde)

 

Greece

Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza) held meetings in Brussels on 1 October and is a strong contender to be the Party of the European Left’s candidate for the Commission presidency.

Tsipras also met the leader of the Socialists & Democrats Group in the European Parliament, Hannes Swoboda. While the predicted rise in support for fringe parties in the European Parliament elections could lead to a ‘grand coalition’ between the main pro-European parties, this meeting may signal that the centre-left will be prepared to work with the Greens and more radical left in the Parliament.

 

Netherlands

The People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) is set to put Hans van Baalen MEP at the head of its election list in 2014. The other Dutch party in the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Group, Democrats 66 (D66) are likely to be led into the European Parliament polls by Sophie in’t Veld MEP.

Another current MEP, Bas Eickhout, is likely to lead the GreenLeft (GroenLinks) party list, while Wim van de Camp MEP and Esther de Lange MEP are set to contest the top position for Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), a member of the European People’s Party Group.

As for the Labour Party (PvdA), there is a leadership race between four candidates: Zita Schellekens, Judith Merkies MEP, Robbert Baruch and Bernard Naron (a former advisor to the PvdA in the European Parliament. The current delegation leader, Thijs Berman, said that he wanted to make room for new candidates and fresh faces, and so is not running to lead the list, but will seek another term as an MEP. Berman’s successor will be selected by PvdA members on 29 November.

Update – 6 October: Volkskrant reports that Paul Tang is a fifth candidate for the leadership of the PvdA list for the European Parliament elections. For D66, current MEP Marietje Schaake has announced her intention to lead the party’s list and become the leader of the delegation, launching her campaign website this weekend.

 

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Current European Parliament political groups
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EPPGroup of the European People's Party
S&DGroup of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
ALDEGroup of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
G/EFAGroup of the Greens / European Free Alliance
ECREuropean Conservatives and Reformists Group
EFDEurope of Freedom and Democracy Group
GUE/NGLConfederal Group of the European United Left / Nordic Green Left
NINon-attached members
Main European political parties
Click the icon to visit the party's website
EPPEuropean People's Party
PESParty of European Socialists
ALDEAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party
EGPEuropean Green Party
AECRAlliance of European Conservatives and Reformists
MELDMovement for a Europe of Liberties and Democracy
PELParty of the European Left