Please log in to read this article:
Don't have a login yet?
Discover your benefits and register for free now! It only takes a minute.
|
|
|
Please log in to read this article:
Don't have a login yet?
Discover your benefits and register for free now! It only takes a minute.
Most viewed in EU governance
MEPs cancel Rio+20 participationCosts are too high for European Parliament delegation. |
 |
Socialist solidarity
|
 |
MEPs water down ethics rulesParliament's leadership exempts hotel rooms costing less than €300 a night from transparency requirements. |
 |
Swoboda becomes leader of the S&D group
Hannes Swoboda, a Austrian centre-left MEP, has been elected as the leader of the 190-strong Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Parliament. He replaces Martin Schulz, who was elected as Parliament president.
Swoboda took 102 of 184 votes cast on Tuesday (17 January), to win the leadership on the first secret ballot.
Swoboda defeated Catherine Trautmann, a French MEP and former mayor of Strasbourg, and long-time UK MEP Stephen Hughes. Trautmann won 45 votes while Hughes received 37 votes.
Swoboda said his top priority as group leader would be to push the European Commission and EU leaders to pursue policies to make job growth a top priority.
“The response to the crisis cannot be based on austerity measures alone,” said Swoboda. He also plans to forge closer links with national centre-left parties and to involve national parliaments more in EU decision making.
Disappointment for Hughes
Hughes said he was disappointed that the group “chose stability and continuity” over change and reform – the platform he had campaigned on. He said his defeat was largely the result of Schulz's backing of Swoboda as his successor. Hughes said he also suffered from a backlash to the decision by David Cameron, the UK prime minister, to block the creation of an EU treaty on fiscal discipline.
Swoboda will serve as group leader until the end of the Parliament's mandate in June 2014. The Austrian, who has been an MEP since 1996, was seen as an early favourite to win the post. He had previously been group vice-president under Schulz.
Related articles
MEPs say more must be done to tackle crisis.
Parliament's leadership exempts hotel rooms costing less than €300 a night from transparency requirements.
Parliament to back tax on shares and trades.
The bearer of bad news in the European Parliament.
MEPs argue over bottled water.
