Commenting on the election of Martin Schulz as president of the European Parliament for the first half of the legislative term, Greens/EFA co-presidents Rebecca Harms and Philippe Lamberts stated:

“The Greens/EFA group congratulates Martin Schulz on his re-election as European Parliament president. Whilst we regret the excessive interference of EU governments in the process for choosing the president of the EU's directly-elected legislature, we will look forward to working with Martin Schulz to defend Parliament's role in EU democracy and rebuild public trust in the EU and its institutions.

"Martin Schulz must prioritise rebuilding public trust in an open, transparent, greener and more ethical European Parliament that truly represents EU citizens and defends democracy and human rights at EU level. With EU governments seeking every opportunity to undermine the role of the EU's only directly-elected institution, the European Parliament and its president must stand up to them."