Everyone against the EPP and the EPP against everyone, Parliament EU’s “weak link”

Brussels – Everyone with everyone, in words. But always in words, those spoken publicly, everyone against everyone. Or rather: everyone against the EPP, and the EPP against everyone. The debate that followed the  State of the Union Address  shows a shaky, quarrelsome European Parliament, animated and perhaps even torn by divisions that at first glance appear difficult to overcome. The nervousness after all is palpable, and the exchange of accusations between groups is certainly not the best calling card for those who would like Europe to take the lead at a time of great uncertainty. 

The first political fact is that in the end, von der Leyen obtained conditional confidence. Liberals, Greens, and Socialists welcome the announcements on sustainability, social policies, competitiveness, measures against the Israeli government for the situation in Gaza, and now urge implementation. Political support is conditional on the fulfilment of commitments and their implementation—this is the political pact. In the background, however, remains a difficult cohabitation, which emerges when the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in her concluding reply, assures that she wants to “work to strengthen the pro-European majority, for me the only one possible“. 

https://www.eunews.it/en/2025/07/10/no-to-no-confidence-motion-european-parliament-backs-von-der-leyen-now-its-up-to-her-to-decide/ 

From the Socialists (S&D), dissatisfaction is filtering in about the choices made so far by the party and the People’s Group (EPP) for agreements with the extreme right. This is why Nicola Zingaretti demands and expects that Von der Leyen “represent a synthesis between a Council conditioned by nationalist impulses and a parliament with a pro-European majority.” This is a further “no” to alliances outside the spectrum including Liberals (RE) and Greens. Even Joao Cotrim de Figueireido, from the RE benches, warns: “Renew Europe is here to support, but the responsibility is yours alone,” he tells von der Leyen. The Greens’ co-chair, Bas Eickhout, is even more direct in his attack on the EPP group leader: “Mr Manfred Weber, if you want unity, work with the centre” instead of sovereignists and conservatives. 

The Populars lay their cards on the table, once and for all, making it clear that they are the ones who dictate the rules of the game and that it is up to others to decide whether to accept them or not. “It is up to you to choose” whose side are you on, “to choose the competitive Europe that manages immigration or the Europe that gets bogged down in bureaucracy and trade wars?” attacks and criticises Jeroen Lenaerts, who adds: “To all the attacks coming from socialists, liberals, and greens, I point out that we are still waiting for a clear commitment on our agenda. For us, it is the moment of truth.”

The leader of the EPP, Manfred Weber [Strasbourg, September 10, 2025]

The EPP succeeds in subverting logic and overturning issues. It responds to accusations by accusing and uses its political weight with renewed arrogance.
Eleven leaders in the EU Council belong to the European People’s Party, with the EPP being the largest group in Parliament. The moment of maximum tension occurs immediately after von der Leyen’s speech. In the first speech of a long list, the group leader Weber frontally attacks the president of the Socialists, Iratxe Garcia Perez, for her criticism of the tariff agreement and her vote against the Omnibus regulation in the labour committee. “This attitude is dividing the platform; this is exactly what is damaging the EU agenda“. The retort of the Spaniard at the head of the S&D group was immediate: “Today it has been made clear who is the real enemy of Europe, who is responsible for not making the political platform work. The problem has a name and a surname: Manfred Weber and the EPP,” countered Perez. 

The unity sought by von der Leyen does not appear on the horizon; there is a need to try to move forward despite everything, with unstable balances, shaky alliances, and nervous majorities put to the test that the continuation of the legislature will inevitably produce.

The leader of the Socialists in the European Parliament, Iratxe Garcia Perez [Strasbourg, September 10, 2025]

There is another part of the House that has already challenged von der Leyen: publicly calling for her resignation are the representatives of the sovereignists (PfE) and ultra-right (ESN), the Left through members of the 5 Star Movement and even by Gheorge Piperea, a conservative (ECR) who was behind the vote of no confidence a few months ago. A call for no-confidence coming from that same group, the Conservatives, from which Assita Kanko first urges the EPP to work with the right, and then the delegation of Fratelli d’Italia urges abandoning the sustainability agenda. 

“The Green Deal was conceived and desired in a different geopolitical era. Today it represents too great an obstacle to European competitiveness,” cuts short Nicola Procaccini (FdI), who aligns himself with the EPP in defending the agreement on tariffs as proof of convergence on issues central to the Greens and Socialists. The speeches thus sanction the divisions in a Parliament where the EU risks going astray, and which remains a minefield for this Commission.