Von der Leyen announces goal of creating majority in European Parliament with pro-Ukrainian forces

Olha Hlushchenko — Monday, 10 June 2024, 03:30

After winning the European Parliament elections, the European People's Party (EPP) plans to build a "broad majority for a strong Europe" with pro-European and pro-Ukrainian forces.

Source: Ukrinform citing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels after the announcement of the preliminary results of the European Parliament elections

Quote: "Today is a good day for the EPP. We won the European elections, my friends. We are by far the strongest party, we are the anchor of stability and voters acknowledged our leadership during the last five years."

Details: Von der Leyen reiterated to everyone that she conducted an active election campaign over the past weeks, visiting 17 European countries and more than 30 cities to learn about the concerns and worries of the people. Everywhere, von der Leyen said, she heard that citizens truly value the European Union and regard it with confidence and trust. The leading candidate from the EPP thanked the member parties of this political family in EU countries for the tremendous work that has allowed them to achieve such a result.

Quote: "This election has given us two messages. First, there remains a majority in the centre for a strong Europe and that is crucial for stability. In other words, the centre is holding.

But it is also true that the extremes on the left and on the right have gained support, and this is why the result comes with great responsibility for the parties in the centre. We may differ on individual points, but we all have an interest in stability and we all want a strong and effective Europe."

Details: Von der Leyen noted that she worked hard to form a political majority of pro-European forces throughout the campaign. That is why the EPP will immediately begin working with major political families with similar platforms, including the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and Renew Europe. The EPP has worked well with these groups over the past five years and looks forward to continuing the constructive and already proven good relations.

Quote: "Throughout my campaign, I’ve been working hard to build a broad and effective majority of pro-European forces. My aim is to continue on this path with those who are pro-European, pro-Ukraine, pro-rule of law. And as of tomorrow, this work starts again."

More details: Von der Leyen said this election did not take place in a vacuum: "The world around us is in turmoil. Forces from the outside and from the inside are trying to destabilise our societies, and they are trying to weaken Europe. We will never let that happen."

Answering journalists' questions, she expressed confidence that she would be able to gain support to continue in this position from both the European Council and the European Parliament. However, she noted that achieving this result would still require a lot of effort.

Background: It was reported that the pro-Ukrainian European People's Party (EPP), the biggest group in the European Parliament, was winning the elections to the European Parliament, which ended on 9 June.

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