The mood among many Belgian Francophone MEPs on Thursday was uncertain following a three-party agreement among the EPP, S&D, and Renew parliamentary group leaders to support the Von der Leyen II Commission.
Belgian MEP Yvan Verougstraete (Les Engagés), from Renew’s centrist political group, told the Belga News Agency: "At this stage, I am still considering my final vote." MEPs will vote on 27 November at a plenary session in Strasbourg, with the new European executive set to take office on 1 December.
"If the EPP continues its toxic alliances in the European Parliament, it won’t matter who is in the next European Commission; the conservative right and far-right will dominate, causing instability and insecurity across Europe," Verougstraete warned.
On Wednesday evening, after days of negotiations and crossed vetoes, the EPP’s Manfred Weber, S&D’s Iratxe Garcia Perez, and Renew’s Valérie Hayer reached an agreement validating all commissioner candidates proposed by the 27 Member States. This includes the controversial appointment of the Italian Raffaele Fitto from Giorgia Meloni’s far-right party as Vice-President.
Additionally, some responsibilities of the Hungarian Oliver Varhelyi, related to crisis management and sexual and reproductive health rights, will be transferred to the Belgium's EU commissioner pick, outgoing Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib.
The agreement was criticised by the Greens, who had largely supported von der Leyen during her re-election as the European Commission President in July. However, it was praised by Meloni’s supporters, who did not back the German EU leader in July.
This scenario hints at a von der Leyen II Commission based on a tripartite coalition of EPP, S&D, and Renew, with additional support from ECR, which includes nationalist and far-right parties.
"We have made notable improvements, such as reducing the scope of Hungarian candidate Varhelyi’s portfolio, who has never gained our trust in managing potential European health crises or ensuring sexual and reproductive rights," commented the centrist politician.
Regarding Raffaele Fitto, Verougstraete remarked: "It is difficult for us to validate a far-right Italian candidate, but his presence reflects democratic choices by Italian citizens; it’s an inescapable fact. What is far more troubling is appointing him as Vice-President of the European Commission, which is symbolically negative." He stressed that the final decision rests with the Commission President.
The position of Renew’s MEPs from MR remains unclear as discussions on their stance are ongoing. In July, Sophie Wilmès, Olivier Chastel, and Benoît Cassart supported von der Leyen.
Hilde Vautmans from Open VLD endorsed the "stable pro-European majority" on Thursday, citing urgent international challenges. The PS response was pending but previously, Elio Di Rupo and Estelle Ceulemans abstained.
Saskia Bricmont (Ecolo), Sara Matthieu (Groen), and Marc Botenga (PTB), rejected the agreement.
