Written by Clare Ferguson.
After the excitement of the European elections, the 720 newly elected Members of the European Parliament take office on 16 July. Their first tasks will be crucial in the organisation of the tenth Parliament (sitting from 2024 to 2029). The agenda for the parliamentary session in Strasbourg from 16‑19 July 2024 is at first, therefore, dedicated to electing certain of their peers to Parliament’s most important offices.
This first, constitutive session will open on Tuesday morning (under revised Rules of Procedure, which enter into force that day). Members cannot take part in debates or votes until the President has been elected. Therefore, electing a new President is Members’ first task. Voting should begin on Tuesday morning. The political groups (or individual Members amounting to 1/20th of the whole Parliament), propose the presidential candidates. To form a political group, a minimum of 23 MEPs, elected in at least one quarter (currently seven) of the EU Member States, is required (Rule 33). With political group formation taking place right up to the wire this time, political alliances are difficult to predict, but having already announced her candidacy, it is widely expected that outgoing President Roberta Metsola will gain a second two-and-a-half year mandate. Members elect their President by absolute majority, in a secret ballot (with up to four rounds, under Rule 16).
Once the new President takes the chair, the elections to Parliament’s Bureau follow. Traditionally, the holders of these key posts reflect the numerical strength of the political groups, and also respect geographical and gender balance, and negotiations among the political groups ensure this balance. The 14 Vice-Presidents are elected in a single ballot by an absolute majority of votes cast (two further rounds of voting are possible, under Rule 17, to fill any remaining seats). Each responsible for specific aspects of parliamentary business, Vice-Presidents chair debates when the President cannot. Parliament then elects five Quaestors, by absolute majority, in up to three ballots (under Rule 18). They are responsible for administrative and financial matters directly concerning Members and their working conditions. The President and Vice-Presidents make up the new Bureau of the Parliament, with the Quaestors participating in an advisory capacity.
Before Parliament’s committees can hold their constitutive meetings, the Conference of Presidents (of the political groups) proposes the number of Members to sit on each committee. Members are due to vote on these numbers on Wednesday (under Rule 212), following which the political groups can appoint the Members of each committee. The committees should then elect their chairs and vice-chairs during meetings planned for 23 July. These appointments are generally the subject of an informal agreement among the political groups, based on using the d’Hondt method, and are expected to reflect the plurality of Member States and a fair representation of political views.
The strength of the political groups in Parliament is therefore at its most evident at this point in the legislature, as their preferred candidates for the Bureau and committee offices find out how much support they have. Negotiations to form these political groups (Members sit with others of similar political persuasion, rather than by nationality) began immediately after the June 2024 elections, and reflect the changes in the political landscape foreshadowed by the results. Political groups must comply with certain rules before informing Parliament’s Secretary-General of their composition. Some are closely aligned with a European political party, whereas others draw their membership from a wider range of national parties. Their presidents meet in the Conference of Presidents, chaired by the President of Parliament.
Once Parliament’s President is in place, it will be time to turn to the appointment of the next European Commission. While the majority of EU leaders endorsed a second mandate for Ursula von der Leyen during the 27 June European Council meeting, she still needs the support of an absolute majority of Members of Parliament – at least 361). Members are set to vote on the candidate for Commission President during this session, by secret ballot on Thursday. If von der Leyen does not obtain the required majority, the European Council would need to propose a new candidate within a month, and Parliament would then vote on the new candidate at the session scheduled for September. Von der Leyen is scheduled to present her priorities to Parliament on Thursday morning, before the vote. These will set the course for the whole term, against which Members scrutinise the Commission’s progress. Together, the new Commission President and EU leaders then propose their candidates for Commissioner posts. Parliament organises hearings of the Commissioners-designate, so that Members from the relevant parliamentary committees can assess their suitability. Members will then decide whether to approve the Commission as a whole at a plenary session later in the year.
Members are also due to hear statements on Wednesday morning from the European Council and the Commission on the conclusions of the European Council meeting of 27 June. However, as the process of appointing Parliament’s office-holders takes up considerable time, the customary statement on the priorities of the incoming Council Presidency, held by Hungary, which began on 1 July, is likely to take place during the September session.
- European Parliament Plenary Session July 2024
- Electing the European Parliament’s President
- Results of the May 2024 European elections
- European Parliament Rules of Procedure 2024‑2029
- Understanding the d’Hondt method: Allocation of parliamentary seats and leadership positions
- Rules on political groups in the European Parliament
- Role and election of the President of the European Commission
- Timeline to new EU institutional leadership
- Outcome of the European Council meeting of 27 June 2024
- How plenary works
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