Morawiecki, Orbán plot reshuffle in EU Parliament with Le Pen

Good morning from Brussels,

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and former Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki, members of the right-wing ‘national-conservative’ camp, are planning a reshuffle of powers in the European Parliament in an attempt to gain enough leverage in the next term.

Although working with Marine Le Pen is not ruled out, her party’s exact positioning in the new balance remains unclear, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will be the ultimate dealmaker.

“The current structure is not good: national conservative forces are taking the lead in the polls, and they don't have a proper voice in the European Parliament”, Balázs Orbán, Viktor Orbán’s political director, told Euractiv.

Euractiv’s Max Griera has the full story, with comments from Mateusz Morawiecki and ECR co-chair Nicola Procaccini.

Meanwhile, Angel Dzhambazki, from the ECR board of directors, told Euractiv that the party is set to convene on Tuesday at 7 pm in Strasbourg “to adopt a manifesto and elect a Spitzenkandidat.”

A long, heated discussion is expected as national delegations widely disagree on whether the party should have a lead candidate, a source from the ECR group said.

Finding of new EU own resources to fund the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) has not worked yet while proper parliamentary scrutiny at the European level is not in place, Klaus Welle from the EU centre-right (EPP) think-tank Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies told Euractiv’s Jonathan Packroff in an interview.

Meanwhile, in the European Parliament, the EPP’s attempt to block the adoption of an agreement to create an ethics body overseeing all of the EU institutions failed on Monday, despite concerns about the initiative becoming a “dangerous precedent.”

On the agricultural front, Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro took a deep look at the positioning of EU political groups on farmers ahead of the European elections in June.

Last but not least, EU member states are increasingly under pressure to provide Ukraine with urgently needed advanced air defence systems, but efforts are hampered by reluctance to move equipment vital for regional defence plans. Alexandra Brzozowski has all the details.

Today's edition is powered by EIT RawMaterials

BERLIN

The conservative CDU/CSU group in the German Bundestag is pushing for a complete ban on all agriculture and food imports from Russia and Belarus as a way of weakening Russia’s war effort. Read more.

Germany arrests three people suspected of giving technology to China. Three Germans have been arrested on suspicion of working with the Chinese secret service to hand over technology that could be used for military purposes, potentially helping to strengthen China’s navy, German officials said on Monday. Read more.

LISBON

Portuguese socialists sack all current MEPs from June’s election list. The Portuguese socialist party (PS/S&D) voted on Monday to remove all current members of the European Parliament from their list for June’s EU election, instead offering a renewed roster with national political figures. Read more.

///

ROME

Italian Democratic Party’s Schlein under fire over EU election strategy. Italy’s centre-left opposition Democratic Party (PD) has come under fire after its leader, Elly Schlein, announced her candidacy for June’s European elections despite having previously said she had no intention of taking up a seat in European Parliament. Read more.

///

MADRID

Spain’s PSOE forms working group ahead of EU elections; keeps name ‘secret’. Spain’s ruling Socialist Party (PSOE/S&D) agreed on Monday to set up a federal electoral committee to coordinate its strategy for the European elections due on 9 June, although the formation did not reveal the name of its main candidate – a top job for which the favourite is Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera. Read more.

PRAGUE

Former head of Czech presidential office charged with EU subsidy fraud. The Czech prosecutor has charged the former head of the Czech presidential office, Vratislav Mynář, with subsidy fraud and damaging the financial interests of the European Union. Read more.

///

WARSAW

Poland ‘ready’ to host nuclear weapons, Polish president says. Poland is ready to host nuclear weapons on its territory, President Andrzej Duda announced on Monday, confirming he had been in talks on the matter with the US administration during a recent visit. Read more. Read more.

PRISTINA

The European Commission and United States have offered diverging views on the outcome of Sunday’s referendum to replace ethnic Albanian mayors in four Serb-majority municipalities in north Kosovo with the US accepting the mayors will stay in place, and the EU refusing to comment but saying the vote is not enough to reduce tensions. Read more.

///

SOFIA

Plot twist for Bulgarian pro-Russian left amid upcoming elections. Former trade unionist Vanya Grigorova, who narrowly lost as the candidate of a coalition of pro-Russian left-wing and far-right parties in Sofia’s mayoral elections last autumn, has announced her candidacy for the upcoming EU and early national elections, although her break with the coalition leaves voters divided. Read more.

///

BUCHAREST

Romania approves participation in the Black Sea mine clearance initiative. Romanian lawmakers on Monday approved President Klaus Iohannis’ proposal for the country to take part in the Turkish initiative to clear the Black Sea of mines. Read more.

***

[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Liene Lūsīte, Alice Taylor]