The socialist grouping, the second largest in the chamber, rejected the appointments made by EU leaders on Tuesday. However, parliament officials said the election of Italian lawmaker Sassoli as president of the chamber could smooth their opposition to Von der Leyen. The election of a figure chosen by the parliament could reconcile the socialists with the EU leaders’ view, officials said. The presidency of the EU parliament is regularly split into two 2-1/2-year terms. Under the deal reached by EU leaders in Brussels, and backed by conservatives, the center-right will have the president of the parliament in the second half of the five-year legislature.

Source: National Post July 03, 2019 07:30 UTC