The leaders of the three main groups in the European Parliament remain immersed in negotiations to approve this Wednesday en bloc the six designated vice-presidents of the new European Commission, among which would be the candidacy of Teresa Ribera. But even if the agreement is closer, the support of the PP is not yet assuredwhich conditions its vote on the commitment of the current minister to resign if she is prosecuted for the management of DANA.
Popular Europeans are closely following Ribera’s interventions in Congress and the Senate, where he will also appear in the afternoon on this subject. “Popular Party MP Esther Muñoz asked Ribera to commit to resigning from her possible post at the European Commission if she was accused of handling the floods that devastated two Spanish regions. “She did not respond, any more than she did during her hearing before the European Parliament,” the party said in a statement, in which it insisted that “she must resign” if she is indicted.
In this sense, they insist that they will evaluate Ribera’s statements to make a decision. The socialist group in the European Parliament (S&D), chaired by Spaniard Iratxe García, has proposed voting for far-right candidates to sit on the Commission, in exchange for the agreement of the European PP to save the candidacy of Teresa Ribera.
The deal to break the deadlock would mean another resignation for the socialists and liberals, who sought to impose a secret vote for Hungary’s animal health and welfare commissioner, Olivér Varhelyi, who will ultimately be assessed according to the same format as the vice-presidents. Yes, the detractors of Viktor Orbán’s candidate obtain that of his powers those on reproductive and sexual health are removed and women’s right to abortion.
The Conference of Presidents (CoP), which brings together the leaders of all groups, meets this Wednesday at 5 p.m. to set the agenda for the plenary session to be held next week in Strasbourg (France), including the Wednesday vote. 27 of the new European Commission. Unless there are any last minute surprises, the coordinators will meet an hour later to reactivate the evaluations and vote on the package between this Wednesday and Thursday.
