Today the European Movement welcomes the European Parliament back to work, with a desire to finally now go beyond appointment discussions, as returning and newly elected MEPs take their seats in the new legislature for the first time.

Jo Leinen MEP, President of the European Movement International stated that ‘in the coming five years, as the only directly elected institution of the EU, the European Parliament must be the driving force to deliver the promises of a stronger, more just and more democratic European Union that works for the benefit of all European citizens’.
Top of the agenda for the first day of proceedings was the election of the European Parliament’s President. As expected, the S&D candidate and former President of the Parliament, Martin Schulz, secured enough support to regain his Presidency.

With a new European Parliament President now installed, the ongoing Juncker-Schulz dance that has dominated negotiations since the counting of votes in May, can now be concluded. The European Movement International now hopes that in face of the potential disruption that the increased number of Eurosceptic and far-right MEP sitting in the house could cause, pro-European MEPs can swiftly now move on from discussions of appointments and back onto matters of content.

Mr Leinen MEP continued that ‘we can’t afford another five years of crisis and economic stagnation. Pro-European groups in the European Parliament must take decisive actions to generate sustainable growth and employment, thus winning back the trust of the citizens in the European project’.