The move of the Brothers of Italy

Fratelli d'Italia votes against von der Leyen. Meloni: 'No in substance and method'

Fratelli d'Italia opposes the re-election of von der Leyen as President of the European Commission

by Redaction Rome

17 July 2024

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Key points

Sources, von der Leyen-Meloni talk before the plenary
Borchia, League will not vote for encore Von der Leyen
Ue, Conte: Fdi does not say how it votes, what clarity from Meloni?
Meloni received by Stermer at Blenheim Palace European Summit

4' min read

At an extraordinary meeting of the Ecr Group, following the debate on the political orientation of the candidate for Commission President, "a large majority of the national delegations confirmed that they will vote against Ursula von der Leyen. As in the last election of Commission President, the group will give a free vote'. This was the announcement of the Conservatives and Reformists in a note before the vote that ended with the re-election of von der Leyen with 401 votes. The group also includes the 24 MEPs of the Fratelli d'Italia, who kept their cards close to the vest until the very end on their voting orientation. The decision to vote compactly against Von der Leyen's re-election was only announced after the ballot had closed. Having defined the line of the Ecr group, the Fdi MEPs in fact adopted their 'own' strategy. "Fdi will vote compactly. There is no freedom of vote in the delegation, we will all vote united,' explained Fdi's head of delegation to the Euro Chamber Carlo Fidanza at the end of the last meeting of the Melonians before the vote. 'What will we vote? We will tell you later," he added. The other Fdi MEPs who were questioned observed the delivery of silence as they made their way to the Chamber.

Meloni: no to Ursula on merit and method

"Fratelli d'Italia has decided not to vote" for the confirmation of Ursula von der Leyen as president of the European Commission, remaining "consistent with the position expressed in the European Council of not sharing the method and the merit". Thus Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in a statement on the sidelines of the EPC summit at Blenheim Palace. "This will not compromise cooperation on many issues, such as immigration," she added, wishing von der Leyen "good work". Meloni finally said she had "no reason to believe" that this vote would "compromise Italy's role in the Commission".

Fidanza: with von der Leyen unheeded message from voters

"The choices made in recent days, the political platform, the search for a consensus on the left as far as the Greens made it impossible for us to support the reappointment of President Ursula von der Leyen," Fidanza said after the vote, emphasising that with the re-election "the strong message of change that came out of the ballot box on 9 June is not being followed up. "This does not affect our institutional working relationship that we are confident will lead to the definition of an appropriate role in the next commission that Italy deserves," he added.

Procaccini: yes to Ursula contrary to our principles

"For us, voting for von der Leyen would have meant going against some of our principles. Some issues made it impossible for us to vote in favour," said Fratelli d'Italia MEP and Ecr co-chair, Nicola Procaccini , after the vote on the reappointment of the European Commission president. "On the other hand, we want to have an extremely constructive relationship," Procaccini added, pointing out that in the course of the legislature "the game will be played on content."

Von der Leyen-Meloni talk before the plenary session

The last contacts of von der Leyen with the political groups took place until shortly before the publication of the political guidelines. And among these contacts, qualified European sources explain, was the conversation between the Commission president-designate and Meloni. The phone call, it is explained, took place late yesterday evening, Wednesday 17 July. To Meloni, as to all interlocutors, von der Leyen explained that there would be no change of line in her speech in plenary compared to what had been outlined in recent days.

The speech on von der Leyen's political lines was, the same sources explain, the result of work that lasted days, calibrated at every point to meet the demands of the political forces with which the commission president intends to dialogue. Among these forces there is also Fratelli d'Italia, and it is no coincidence - it is stressed - that the text has placed the accent on the migration dossier but also on that relating to the Mediterranean area, to which von der Leyen intends to dedicate an ad hoc portfolio. Each paragraph has taken into account the requests that von der Leyen has received in the meetings with the groups: the ad hoc Commissioner for Housing, for example, is a request that the socialist grouping has strongly brought forward. A request that the president wanted to meet.

Conte: Fdi does not say how he votes, what clarity from Meloni?

"FdI MEPs do not want to anticipate whether they will vote Von der Leyen together with the European centre-left or not. Giorgia Meloni do you realise that you are the Prime Minister of Italy? That linearity and clarity of political position are fundamental for your credibility in Europe and that all this risks damaging Italy as well?' Thus on X the M5s leader Giuseppe Conte..

Meloni received by Stermer at Blenheim Palace European Summit

Meanwhile, Meloni has been received at Blenheim Palace, Winston Churchill's birthplace near Oxford, where the new British Labour prime minister, Keir Stramer , is welcoming amid smiles and handshakes the leaders of 47 European countries for the fourth summit of the European Political Community (EPC): a pan-European forum of EU and non-EU nations. The President of the Council, who will co-chair a session dedicated to combating illegal immigration, arrived - in the parade of leaders - shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron.