It is not known what time the dinner of the 27 heads of state and government of the EU will end, who have been meeting since 6pm to kick off the new legislature after the vote with the designation of who will lead the Commission, the European Council and the "ministry ” of EU foreign affairs (high representative for foreign policy and security). In truth, the Twenty-Seven will not take formal decisions, reserved for the "official" European Council at the end of the month. However, the expectation is that the negotiation canvas should be well woven, barring any last-minute surprises.

The nomination of Ursula von der Leyen for a second term appears to be clear. Certainly the consensus on his name has strengthened in recent days. Von der Leyen would be part of a defined trio: the socialists would have the presidency of the European Council, the liberals would have responsibility for foreign policy.

The fact that the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni did not make any declarations before the start of the meeting and that the Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani reiterated how the Italian government insists on the "right to the vice presidency with a top-class commissioner" is interpreted as the confirms that Italy will not get in the way of the European Council. On the other hand, the certain numbers in the Council are what they are: there is no room for changes to the trio scheme. For this reason, all that remains is to negotiate everything else, with one eye both on the Commission's programmatic commitments and another (even more attentive) on the national positions in the next EU executive.

Among the boxes to be filled there is also the presidency of the EU Parliament, an institutional position of the Union not equal to the previous ones and which has a bit of a life of its own because it responds to the parliamentary groups: in any case it will be the current president Roberta Metsola, popular Maltese, to continue the mandate.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declares himself certain that it will be possible to find "an agreement, a sensible solution between the parties in Parliament and between the countries" given that the European elections have delivered "a stable majority of the parties that have collaborated closely so far, since EPP to the Social Democrats to the Liberals" in the European Parliament. For Scholz it must be clear "that Parliament must not support a presidency of the Commission that is based (on the vote) of right-wing and populist parties". His support for Ursula von der Leyen for another time at the helm of the European Commission is as total as it is decisive, reiterated several times in recent days.

(Unioneonline/D)

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