Parliament braced for change as groups name new leaders

By Martin Banks

Date: 15/07/04

HALF of the eight political groups in the enlarged European Parliament will have new leaders after an intensive round of negotiations and contests since the mid-June elections.

The new leaders will participate in the conference of presidents, the assembly's influential inner circle, which comes together each week to shape the Parliament's agenda.

German Martin Schulz represents the second largest group in the 732-member assembly after succeeding Spaniard Enrique Barón Crespo as Socialist group (PES) leader.

He has declared his intention to unite the Socialists to turn his 200-strong group into a more effective force in the new legislature.

The re-elected UK Independence Party (UKIP) MEP Nigel Farage, is joint leader, together with Dane Jens-Peter Bonde, of Independence and Democracy, the newly formed, 31-strong, Eurosceptic group.

Farage, a commodities broker in the City of London, aims to show that UKIP's success in the European elections is sustainable.

Other leadership newcomers are the Scottish Nationalist Ian Hudghton, elected leader of the European Free Alliance group (six MEPs), and Irishman Brian Crowley and Italian Christina Muscardini, who jointly succeed Charles Pasqua as leader of the 27-strong Union for Europe of the Nations.

Hudghton, who takes over from Belgian deputy Nelly Maes, aims to further the cause of Europe's "stateless" nations and regions.

In the conference of presidents, they join longstanding group leaders Hans-Gert Pöttering, of the 268-strong centre-right EPP-ED, Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Monica Frassoni, joint leaders of the Greens, and the UK MEP Graham Watson, former Liberal group leader, who is expected to be confirmed as chairman of the new Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group.

ALDE currently boasts 89 members, slightly more than first expected after it accepted applications for membership from five MEPs of the Lithuanian Labour party.

Discussions are still going on with other MEPs who have expressed interest in joining, with Watson still hoping to break through the psychologically significant barrier of 100 members.

The Socialist group secretariat is set for a shake-up following the departure of its secretary-general, Christine Verger. Although recently appointed the Parliament's new director for protocol, the Frenchwoman is tipped to join the cabinet of Josep Borrell, if he is elected president of the Parliament.

David Harley, spokesman for outgoing president Pat Cox, was this week appointed new PES secretary-general. He will start his new A2 grade job in the next few weeks.

Harley was appointed by Schulz and will be responsible for around 160 staff. The two others in the running for the post were Italian Luchiano Vecche and the Dane Jesper Schunck.

The current secretaries-general in the other main groups are likely to remain unchanged.

Dane Niels Pedersen has been in his post at the EPP-ED, Parliament's biggest political grouping, for less than a year, while Dutchman Alexander Beels, ELDR secretary- general, is expected to take up the same post in the new ALDE group.

The Greens' two secretaries- general, Vula Tsetsi, from Greece, and German Juan Behrend, will remain in their posts.