Liberal Renew manifesto sneak peek and bits from Bucharest congress Dear readers, Welcome to EU Elections Decoded, your essential guide for staying up to date and receiving exclusive insights about the upcoming EU elections. This is Max Griera, writing from Bucharest. Subscribe here. In today’s edition Sneakpeek into liberal Renew Europe Now platform’s manifesto and lead candidates Notes from Bucharest: the ins and outs of the European People’s Party (EPP) congress Flash updates: Socialists place “security” at the core of their campaign, French radical left unveils electoral list, fresh polls indicate head-to-head race between Socialists and centre-right in Romania and Portugal. Ahead of Renew Europe’s grand electoral launch on 20 March, Euractiv took a sneak peek at their lead candidates and manifesto, which focuses on competitiveness, defence, and the need to shift from creating new Green legislation to implementing the existing laws and give the industry breathing space. The several factions composing the liberal group in the European Parliament will gather on 20 March to launch the joint ‘Renew Europe Now’ platform, including a 10-point electoral programme and a team of three lead candidates to guide them through the elections. While the liberals have stayed silent on their campaign plans, their joint electoral plan is starting to take shape. And, as their grand electoral launch approaches, Euractiv was briefed by a well-informed source on the Renew manifesto’s content. The common points, which bring together the priorities of ALDE, EDP, and France’s Renaissance – the most important liberal factions -, outline the general priorities the liberals will follow in the campaign and the upcoming legislative term, such as defence, farmers, rule of law, and the EU’s reform. However, it seems the manifesto will lack specific policy proposals, instead agreeing on the lowest common denominators and leaving some ambiguity for future flexibility on specific files. The common priorities focus on boosting Europe’s competitiveness, to face off against competition from China and the US, while looking inward by embracing a ‘Made in Europe’ strategy. Such a standpoint echoes ALDE’s manifesto, reported by Euractiv, which affirms the EU’s single market needs to be completed “We advocate for a frictionless single market that ensures an equal and competitive business environment at the EU level,” the ALDE draft manifesto states, while criticising the outgoing Commission’s management of the internal market. In doing so, ALDE also casts doubt on the performance of the commissioner in charge of the internal market, Frenchman Thierry Breton, though any mention of a neglected internal market has been ditched from the Renew manifesto, possibly as a result of French pressure. On the Green Deal, echoing the ‘regulatory pause’ called for by French President Emmanuel Macron, the manifesto places a strong emphasis on the need to move away from further regulation and ensure that the implementation of Green Deal files does not hamper Europe’s businesses. On migration, the liberals have opted to reject the harsher stance of the European People’s Party and embrace a “humane, clear, and stable” approach. However, the manifesto seems to play on ambiguity by broadly calling to help the countries of departure to handle migration flows, as well as further migrant talent integration. Among other points, the manifesto also brings back Europe’s reform debate by demanding to reopen the EU treaties to get rid of qualified majority voting, and turn the Commission into a “proper democratic government.” Such a perspective likely draws on the manifesto of the European Democratic Party, a member of Renew, seen by Euractiv, which contains 300 actions to be taken after the EU elections. With a strong pro-European narrative, the EDP manifesto proposes implementing the conclusions of the long-forgotten Conference on the Future of Europe, and the direct election of an “EU president” with transnational lists. Just like the Socialists and the centre-right parties, the liberals have also embraced the pro-farmers rhetoric as their own, echoing the pledges that the Renew Europe group’s president, France’s Valérie Hayer, made after being elected the group’s chief. Brussels is also waiting to see who will head the Renew Europe Platform in the campaign, as the liberals are the last EU political force to make their pick. As reported by Euractiv on Tuesday (7 March), the liberals have now confirmed they will have a “Team Europe” composed of three Spitzenkandidaten to represent each liberal faction: ALDE, EDP, and France’s Renaissance. What we know so far is that MEP Sandro Gozi will almost certainly become the lead candidate from EDP, while Commissioner Breton seems to be the frontrunner to represent France’s Renaissance. ALDE members have been struggling to find their pick and have pushed their deadline, initially set last week, to reach an internal agreement. While ALDE members would like to see Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as their lead candidate, it is unclear whether she will agree. Read more on the liberals lead candidate team here. | 