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5 EWROPEJ maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 JUNE 2024 pick 720 MEPs: Europe votes All MEPs usually choose to sit with the European Parliament grouping affiliated with the pan-European party in which their national party is a member. So Mal- ta's Labour MEPs will sit with the Social- ists & Democrats, which belongs to the Party of European Socialists; the Nation- alist MEPs sit with the EPP, which be- longs to the European People's Party. The party groupings in Europe are, from left to right: the far-left parties in The Left, the ecologist Greens-European Free Alli- ance, the centre-left S&D, the liberal cen- tre Renew, the centre-right EPP, the hard conservatives ECR, the far-right ID, and other unaligned independents. In Brussels, these MEPs will sit in com- mittees where they will debate draft laws and bills, before being voted into a final shape that is presented to the plenary of MEPs, which will then amend the law again before taking a final vote on the law. But these laws then go for a negotiation with the national governments' represent- atives and the European Commission – so-called trilogue meetings – before they are actually published in the EU's Gazette. Not a simple process but one that in- volves compromise across the different MEP groupings to secure enough votes, as well as a passion for the long game when national governments can suddenly change due to elections or crises, bringing in new leaders with new agendas. Think of this aspect of EU lawmaking as an ice- cream, but with different flavours that melt and new scoops get added on… Low turnouts in European elections af- fect the strength of this agenda. And with the EPP retaining its majority but with lib- erals Renew and the Greens losing seats, their role as the centre of influence-mak- ing might be dented, with hard-right for- mations taking the upper hand. This affects the general drift on major EU laws, which are also affected by national in- terests: the countries that want giant farm subsidies, the countries that want tougher controls on immigration, the countries that want more defence spending on Russia, the countries that resent strict environmental laws that might make their businesses less competitive… not all MEPs might respect their European parties' agenda, and instead favour the national line (a common philos- ophy for Maltese MEPs, who are intimately tied to their home party and by extension, their government). Choosing the EU's leaders Horse-trading in the EU is a game of power. The most important position is being the chief of the European Commission, the executive body that proposes new EU laws. So it usually the pick of the political grouping that wins the most seats in the election – even if the top candidate is not necessarily a parliamentarian, like Von der Leyen was in 2019. The next jobs will get carved up between the major parties: in 2019, the role of EU 'foreign minister' – the High Representa- tive – went to the socialists' Josef Borrell of Spain, while the liberals Renew got their pick, former Belgian prime minister Charles Michel, to be installed as presi- dent of the European Council, a symbolic role that manages the grouping of PMs. The elected MEPs will also get to scru- tinise, grill in the House, and approve or reject the individual member states' nom- inees for Commission. Von der Leyen, as lead candidate of the EPP, would still have to be proposed by Germany's socialist leader, and then will need the nod from other European lead- ers apart from securing at least 361 votes from MEPs. The commissioners will have to win the confidence of the MEPs in the committees that oversee their portfolio, for example trade, agriculture, defence, enlargement or civil liberties and human rights, and then clinch the vote in the EP. And for- mer nominees have definitely faced tough grillings and refusals, such as Italy's con- servative Catholic pick Rocco Buttiglione. Shaping the EU through its leaders The Parliament is one of the three main EU institutions, and the only one that is directly elected. The other two institutions are the Coun- cil, where the ministers and heads of gov- ernment meet, and the European Com- mission, the bloc's executive arm. MEPs can't actually propose new laws themselves – the right of initiative lies with the European Commission. So it is Von der Leyen and her commissioners who have the power to issue a first draft of any new law. However, it is MEPs who shape the law into being with a final vote and trilogue negotiations with the Council and the Eu- ropean Commission. Their influence also is linked to the EU's major leaders: for example, Germany traditionally dominates the EU agenda through its influence at the heart of the EPP, and the Commission presidency, but with Scholz this is also extended to the S&D of course; France on the other hand, through president Emmanuel Macron's liberal Renaissance, means it can influ- ence MEPs within the Renew grouping; Italy's Meloni then has the upper hand inside the ECR. So the composition of the Council, that is national elections, comes into play when it comes to how it will treat the laws shaped by the MEPs. Apart from Von der Leyen, who is seek- ing a second term as Commission pres- ident, the other contender for the role if the S&D wins the elections would be Nicolas Schmit of Luxembourg, who is trying to harness socialist not to give up on the Green Deal. Schmit is Luxem- bourg's outgoing European commission- er, and has criticised his boss for trying to seek cooperation with Meloni and her allies in the ECR… all in the hope of bol- stering a grand right-wing alliance. European Parliament President Rober- ta Metsola, the Maltese Nationalist MEP from Malta, will be open to a second term as president, which amounts to another two years and a half since the S&D and the EPP share the position. This article forms part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. These articles reflect only the authors' views. The action was co-financed by the European Union in the frame of the European Parliament's grant programme in the field of communication. The European Parliament was not involved in its preparation and is, in no case, responsible for or bound by the information or opinions expressed in the context of this action. In accordance with applicable law, the authors, interviewed people, publishers or programme broadcasters are solely responsible. The European Parliament can also not be held liable for direct or indirect damage that may result from the implementation of the action. THE ELECTIONS IN A NUTSHELL To the right The 2024 European Parliament elec- tions will see a major shift to the right in many countries, with populist rad- ical right parties gaining votes and seats across the EU, and centre-left and green parties losing votes and seats. Eurosceptics rise Anti-European populists are likely to top the polls in nine member states (Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Slovakia) and come second or third in a further nine countries (Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Sweden). Weakened grand coalition Almost half the seats could be held by MEPs outside the "super grand coalition" of the three centrist groups. If a populist right coalition of EPP members, ECR and ID emerge as a majority for the first time, this could affect the way MEPs vote foreign policy and climate. European lead candidates