Europarliament, two Italian presidencies and the anti-sovereignty cordon: here is the institutional set-up
The European Parliament is completed with the election of committee summits. Anti-Sovereignist cordon keeps patriot parties isolated
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FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
BRUSSELS - The European Parliament completed its institutional set-up today, Tuesday 23 July, one and a half months after the 6-9 June elections. The 24 parliamentary committees and subcommittees elected their heads. The patriot and sovereignist parties remained isolated behind a cordon sanitaire, provoking their heated criticism. Of the 24 chairmen, two are Italian: the former mayor of Bari Antonio Decaro (PD) and the former president of the Inps Pasquale Tridico (M5S).
The distribution
.Voting went as planned, based on the D'Hondt proportional method and inter-party negotiations. The Populars got eight chairmanships, the Socialists five, the Liberals, Greens and Conservatives three each and the Radical Left two. The most important committees in terms of number of members are the environment and industry committees (90 each), confirming the European priorities in this legislature. Economic affairs was taken over by the French socialist Aurore Lalucq.
The wrath of the sovereignists
.Criticism came from the more extremist parties that in theory, on the basis of the D'Hondt method, could have obtained a committee chairmanship. In this context, the transport committee went to a People's Party member, while the culture committee will be chaired by a Green MEP. At a press conference, Kinga Gál, a Hungarian from the Fidesz party and vice-president of the patriots' group, called the cordon sanitaire 'outrageous and unacceptable'.
"The oligarchy that runs the EU has truly betrayed democracy," the MEP added. We do not accept this shameful agreement and we will use all available legal remedies, procedures and domestic remedies, up to and including recourse to the European Court of Justice'. He added, on the Italian side, Paolo Borchia, the head of the League's delegation in Strasbourg: 'To implement the cordon, the Socialists and Popular Party even had to violate the principle of gender equality in committees, absurd'.
As mentioned, two Italians were rewarded by yesterday's vote. The former mayor of Bari Decaro, as a socialist, gets the Environment Commission, the one that among other things will have to negotiate with the Council the European Commission's proposal to reduce harmful emissions by 90% by 2040. Former Inps president Tridico, of the radical left, will chair the Taxation subcommittee (a very delicate topic - it requires unanimity among the member states - but of growing interest).
