Pina Picierno to start the work of the new Parliament by managing the election of the new President

Brussels – The European Parliament is preparing to turn its engines. The institution directly elected by European citizens begins work on the new legislature next week, Tuesday 16. It starts with the renewal of the main posts: the President, 14 Vice-Presidents, and the five quaestors. Roberta Metsola (EPP) is the outgoing President, and according to the rules, she should lead the House in the voting procedures for the new institutional leadership. However, since she is running for a new term, for reasons of institutional courtesy, she could refrain from doing so. Management of the proceedings, therefore, will go to the first of the outgoing Vice Presidents to be re-elected. In this specific case, Pina Picierno (PD/S&D).

Picierno was not the First Vice-President, but since Othmar Karas (EPP) was not re-elected, the post is missing. Rules dictate that the first of the re-elected vice presidents “in order of precedence” should chair the first sitting of the new European Parliament, including the selection of the new head of the institution, and, therefore, it could fall to the Italian, who was the second Vice-President in the last legislature, to lead the new MEPs to the election of the new President.

After the expected election of Metsola, Picierno will be put to the vote of her colleagues, having been nominated by the S&D group for the Vice-Presidency of the Parliament.

Work on the renewal of the key offices takes place from July 15-17, after which, on the 18th at 1 p.m., the House will vote on the President-Designate for the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen (EPP).