Document: Right-wing majorities in European Parliament will still be allowed

The European Parliament unblocked the European Commission’s Dec. 1 kickoff after the center-right European People’s Party, the Socialists and Democrats and liberal Renew signed an agreement committing to work together for the next five years. Check out the document here.

But with the Commission greenlit, the EPP now is free to swing to both the left and right to find majorities, keeping the right-wing members of the European Parliament on side.

Renew lawmakers introduced the agreement as a way to break the deadlock and ease tensions between S&D and the EPP.  

In exchange for supporting Italy’s hard-right commissioner nominee Raffaele Fitto, which the socialists initially refused to do, S&D and Renew demanded that the EPP commit to sticking with the centrist mainstream majority, rather than turning to a right-wing majority in the Parliament.

But the agreement falls short of that, and does not add a new dynamic to the relationship among the three groups.

The watered-down declaration merely focuses on broad objectives for the coming five years, drawing from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s June investiture speech.  

The three groups “agree to cooperate,” and “reaffirm” their “pledge to work together with a constructive approach.”

There are no formal coalitions in the European Parliament, as the government — in this case the Commission — does not depend on the support of a majority of lawmakers to stay afloat.

While the three centrist groups have kept the EU stable in recent years, often coming together to pass legislation, majorities in the Parliament are decided on a case-by-case basis, depending on the issue at hand.