Liberal Renew and centre-left S&D are sending their policy wish lists to Ursula von der Leyen, hoping to influence her annual address to the Parliament next Wednesday.
The letters, seen by Euractiv, are unlikely to shape the debate, though. The two groups’ leverage is limited, and neither spells out what they would do if von der Leyen ignores them.
Both groups tied themselves closely to her leadership, helping her secure a second term in 2024 and survive a motion of censure from the far-right in July.
A draft of Renew’s nine-page letter, signed by French MEP Valérie Hayer and Ireland’s Billy Kelleher, mixes specific asks with appeals like defending a “rules-based international order.”
The draft, inspired by Mario Draghi’s diagnosis of Europe’s economic ills, urges the Commission to continue simplifying EU laws and to deepen the single market. It describes the EU-US trade deal as “unbalanced” but necessary to avoid a trade war.
The group also asks to make drop unanimous voting on foreign policy decisions, and raise new EU taxes to fund the next long-term budget.
Meanwhile, the Socialists’ letter from group leader Iratxe Garcíaputs more emphasis on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, criticising the Commission for “continued inaction,” and calling for more pressure on Israel.
It is also far harsher on the EU-US trade deal, describing it as “neither fair nor balanced,” and demands a big EU budget and a “European digital public infrastructure.”
“Accepting illegal unilateral tariffs and bending our legislation to external pressure would set a dangerous precedent,” it says.
But the Socialists stop short of explicitly threatening to hamper the deal’s passage through the Parliament.
Both letters bemoan the diminished stature of the EU in the world, with Renew saying the bloc “lacks political leverage,” and the Socialists saying the EU is facing an “existential” moment (but so is the world).
Von der Leyen met the heads of the Parliament’s political groups in the Conference of Presidents on Wednesday afternoon.
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