European Parliament Environment Committee Chair Antonio Decaro is bowing out of Brussels to run for governor of Puglia, Italian media reported Friday.
The socialist MEP is yet to make a formal announcement, though according to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera he is expected to lead a centre-left coalition in the regional election this autumn.
Decaro, who served as Bari’s mayor from 2015 to 2024, is one of the region’s most popular politicians and had long been suspected of harbouring ambitions to return to the local stage.
Parliament sources told Euractiv that Decaro will likely be replaced as the chair of the environment committee by one of his Italian Socialists & Democrats colleagues.
One senior socialist official said the matter could be settled on the sidelines of next week’s plenary meeting of Strasbourg.
