2024 Bureau of the European Parliament election explained

Election Name:2024 President of the European Parliament election
Flag Image:European_Parliament_logo.svg
Type:legislative
Ongoing:no
Seats For Election:Needed to win: Majority of the votes cast
623 votes cast, 312 needed for a majority
1Blank:Group
2Blank:Constituency
4Blank:Percentage
Previous Election:2022 President of the European Parliament election
Previous Year:2022
Election Date:16 July 2024
Next Election:2027 President of the European Parliament election
Next Year:2027
Candidate1:Roberta Metsola
1Data1:EPP
2Data1:Malta
3Data1:562
4Data1:90.20%
Candidate2:Irene Montero
1Data2:The Left
2Data2:Spain
3Data2:61
4Data2:9.79%
Before Election:Roberta Metsola
Before Party:European People's Party Group
President
After Election:Roberta Metsola
After Party:European People's Party Group

The Bureau of the European Parliament election was held on 16 and 17 July 2024, where members of the European Parliament, elected in the 2024 election, voted to elect its Bureau for the 2.5 years term during the Tenth European Parliament. On 16 July, Roberta Metsola was elected president of the European Parliament together with 14 vice-presidents. On 17 July, 5 quaestors were elected.[1] [2]

Background

The Bureau of the European Parliament is responsible for matters relating to the budget, administration, organisation and staff. It is composed of the President of the European Parliament along with all 14 vice-presidents and the 5 quaestors.[2]

They are elected with a secret ballot for two and a half years with a renewable term. According to the Parliament's Rules of Procedure, nominations are put forward either by a political group or by a group of MEPs reaching the low threshold (1/20th of MEPs, or 36 out of 720 in 2024).[2]

Traditionally, the political groups informally agree on the distribution of positions (president, vice-presidents and quaestors) using proportional representation, specifically the D'Hondt method.[3] At the same time, some groups refuse to cooperate with PfE and ESN applying a so-called cordone sanitaire.[4]

Election of the President

The President of the European Parliament is elected through a secret vote of MEPs, requiring an absolute majority of cast votes for the election.[2] Article 14 of the Treaty on European Union states that Parliament elects its president from among its Members.[1] [5]

On 16 July 2024, Roberta Metsola was re-elected as President of the European Parliament with 562 votes.[6]

Candidate!Votes
Roberta Metsola MaltaEPP562
Irene Montero SpainThe Left61
Voted699
Votes cast623
Blank or void76
Votes needed for election312
Source: European Parliament [7] [8] [9]

Election of the Vice-Presidents

Fourteen vice-presidents are elected through a single secret ballot process, requiring an absolute majority of cast votes for their selection. In situations where the number of successful candidates falls below 14, a second round of voting is conducted to allocate the remaining positions following identical conditions. Should a third round of voting become necessary, a simple majority suffices to occupy the remaining seats.[2]

During each round of voting, MEPs have the capacity to cast votes for as many candidates as there are available seats for that particular round. However, they are obligated to vote for more than half of the total positions to be filled. The precedence of Vice Presidents is established by the order in which they are elected, and in cases of a tie, seniority is determined by age.[2]

On 16 July 2024, the S&D group got 5 vice-presidents elected, the EPP 3, Renew 2 and the G/EFA 1. In the second round the ECR group got 2 vice-presidents elected and The Left 1. The PfE and ESN candidates remained out due to the cordon sanitaire.[10] [11]

CandidateVotes
1st Ballot2nd Ballot
Sabine Verheyen (elected First Vice-President) GermanyEPP604
Ewa Kopacz PolandEPP572
Esteban González Pons SpainEPP478
Katarina Barley GermanyS&D450
Pina Picierno ItalyS&D405
[style="background-color:#d8ffcc" |'''[[Victor Negrescu]]| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | Romania| style="background-color:width:1px; background-color:; width:1px;" || style="background-color:#d8ffcc" |S&D| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" |394|-| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" |Martin Hojsík| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | Slovakia| style="background-color:width:1px; background-color:; width:1px;" || style="background-color:#d8ffcc" |Renew| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" |393|-| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" |Christel Schaldemose| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | Denmark| style="background-color:width:1px; background-color:; width:1px;" || style="background-color:#d8ffcc" |S&D| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" |378|-| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" |Javi López| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | Spain| style="background-color:width:1px; background-color:; width:1px;" || style="background-color:#d8ffcc" |S&D| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" |377|-| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" |Sophie Wilmès| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | Belgium| style="background-color:width:1px; background-color:; width:1px;" || style="background-color:#d8ffcc" |Renew| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" |371|-| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" |Nicolae Ştefănuță| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | Romania| style="background-color:width:1px; background-color:; width:1px;" || style="background-color:#d8ffcc" |G/EFA| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" |347|-| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | Roberts Zīle| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | Latvia| style="background-color:width:1px; background-color:; width:1px;" || style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | ECR| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | 306| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | 490|-| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | Antonella Sberna| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | Italy| style="background-color:width:1px; background-color:; width:1px;" || style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | ECR| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | 323| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | 314|-| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | Younous Omarjee| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | France| style="background-color:width:1px; background-color:; width:1px;" || style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | The Left| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | 272| style="background-color:#d8ffcc" | 311|-|Klára Dostálová| Czechia| style="background-color:width:1px; background-color:; width:1px;" ||PfE|214|177|-|Fabrice Leggeri| France| style="background-color:width:1px; background-color:; width:1px;" ||PfE|209|116|-|Ewa Zajaczkowska-Hernik| Poland|style="background-color:width:1px; background-color:; width:1px;" ||ESN|102|46|-! colspan="6" ||-| colspan="4" |Voted|701|674|-| colspan="4" |Votes cast|665|609|-| colspan="4" |Blank or void|36|65|-| colspan="4" |Votes needed for election|333|305|-| colspan="4" |Source: European Parliament|[12] |[13] |}

Election of the Quaestors

Five quaestors are elected through a single secret ballot process, following the same procedure as that for the election of vice-presidents.

On 17 July 2024, the EPP group got 2 quaestors elected, while the S&D and Renew groups 1 each. The ECR got 1 quaestor elected in the second round, while the PfE candidate remained out due to the cordon sanitaire.[14]

CandidateVotes
1st Ballot2nd Ballot
Andrey Kovatchev BulgariaEPP559
Marc Angel LuxembourgS&D461
Miriam Lexmann SlovakiaEPP459
Fabienne Keller FranceRenew398
Kosma Złotowski PolandECR260335
Pál Szekeres HungaryPfE174130
Voted669612
Votes cast641465
Blank or void28147
Votes needed for election321233
Source: European Parliament[15]

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2024-07-16 . Roberta Metsola re-elected as President of the European Parliament . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240803210950/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20240710IPR22805/roberta-metsola-re-elected-as-president-of-the-european-parliament . 3 August 2024 . 2024-07-17 . European Parliament.
  2. Web site: 2024-07-17 . Parliament’s new Bureau elected . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240717103921/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20240710IPR22814/parliament-s-new-bureau-elected . 17 July 2024 . 2024-07-17 . European Parliament.
  3. Web site: 2024-07-05 . The other top jobs races . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240705113001/https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/eu-election-playbook/the-other-top-jobs-races/ . July 5, 2024 . August 15, 2024 . Politico Europe.
  4. Web site: Maggioranza, D'Hondt e cordone sanitario . 2024-07-12 . Il Mattinale Europeo . it.
  5. Web site: How to elect the presidency of the EU Parliament. Metsola could get second term by acclamation. eunews. 2024-07-12. 2024-07-17.
  6. Web site: Roberta Metsola reelected European Parliament president. Politico Europe. 2024-07-16.
  7. Web site: Priority information Plenary European Parliament . 2024-07-16 . www.europarl.europa.eu . en.
  8. Web site: Roberta Metsola reelected European Parliament president. Politico Europe. 2024-07-16. 2024-07-17.
  9. Web site: It is still Roberta Metsola’s turn. Maltese MEP re-elected President of the European Parliament. eunews. 2024-07-16. 2024-07-17.
  10. Web site: In the EU Parliament the cordon sanitaire against the far right holds. Among the 14 Vice Presidents are Picierno (PD) and Sberna (FdI). . 2024-07-16 . eunews.
  11. Web site: L'appello di Letta alla Francia e all'Ue: la salvezza passa per una grande coalizione europeista Parlamento . 2024-07-17 . Il Mattinale Europeo . it.
  12. Web site: Priority information Plenary European Parliament . 2024-07-16 . www.europarl.europa.eu . en.
  13. Web site: Priority information Plenary European Parliament . 2024-07-16 . www.europarl.europa.eu . en.
  14. Web site: La Comunità politica europea: l'Europa globale in fieri Parlamento . 2024-07-18 . Il Mattinale Europeo . it.
  15. Web site: Priority information Plenary European Parliament . 2024-07-17 . www.europarl.europa.eu . en.