The Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament will organise a hearing in the second week of January to question Roberta Metsola MEP, a candidate to chair the European Parliament during the second half of the legislature, before deciding on their vote.

S&D leader Iratxe García MEP said:

“I have already started negotiating with EPP leader Manfred Weber to see if we can reach an agreement to rebalance the S&D representation in the European Parliament and strengthen our political priorities.

“We also want to listen to the EPP candidate proposed to chair this house, because some of her viewpoints are unacceptable to us. We will invite Roberta Metsola for a questioning session in front of our MEPs, where they can pose the questions and raise the concerns they have, and we expect commitments and clarifications on some important issues such as women rights, tax justice, the rule of law and social justice.

“Any S&D support for an EPP candidate to chair the Parliament will depend on whether it is possible to set an agenda that reflects the priorities of our political family, which has clearly gained ground since the last European elections in 2019 and needs to be fairly represented in this Parliament."