Vrecionová will lead the influential agricultural committee in the EP — ČT24 — Czech Television

23/07/2024Updated 23. 7. 2024, 23:04|Source: ČTK, ČT24

Veronika Vrecionová (ODS)

On Tuesday morning, Veronika Vrecionová (ODS) from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group was elected chairwoman of the influential Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) in the European Parliament (EP). Luděk Niedermayer (TOP 09) from the faction of the European People’s Party (EPP) became the vice-chairman of the Committee for Economy and Currency (ECON). Niedermayer also held the position of vice-chairman of the ECON committee in the last election term.

Both committees are very important, noted Petr Obrovský, correspondent of CT in Brussels. “The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development is quite influential in the EP, it is related to how important the common agricultural policy is in the set of EU policies,” he explained, adding that about a third of the EU budget goes to agriculture.

“In the following five-year period, a new seven-year budget for the years 2028 to 2034 will be negotiated, and thus also a new form of common agricultural policy, which Vrecionová identified as a top topic for the following period shortly after her election,” Obrovský continued.

After her election, Vrecionová thanked those present, said that she was looking forward to working with them, and immediately began to manage the ongoing meeting. According to Vrecionová, her position is very important not only for the ODS and the ECR faction, but also for the Czech Republic, especially because the EU is awaiting negotiations on a new form of common agricultural policy. “It must be remembered that a third of the European budget goes to agriculture, which is a huge package of money, and therefore it is very important how we set other conditions for Czech and European farmers,” Vrecionová told Czech journalists in Brussels shortly after her election. She thus confirmed the words of the reporter Obrovský.

Luděk Niedermayer (TOP 09), Veronika Vrecionová (ODS) and Jaroslava Pokorná Jermanová (ANO) on EP committees (source: ČT24)

According to her, the recent farmers’ protests showed that “farmers are struggling to cope with all the new responsibilities that have been thrown at them as a result of the Green Deal, first of all the huge increase in bureaucracy”. It is this topic that needs to be addressed, she added. “As a society, we want farmers to behave responsibly towards water, soil and the landscape, however, these things need to be set more by motivation, not by various prohibitions and orders. There is also a need to communicate more with farmers and it is also very important to support small and medium-sized agricultural farms and family farms more,” added Vrecionová, adding that she also wants to address a topic she has been working on for a long time, which is the living conditions of farm animals.

“When it comes to voting in the committee, its chairman has one vote, as do the other members. However, it is very important that the president participates in meetings with the other presidents of the parliament, where, for example, competences for various drafts, proposals and the timetable are negotiated,” explained Vrecionová to ČT. The Agricultural Committee prepares opinions for the plenary session of the European Parliament, which, according to Vrecionová, are often looked into.

Vrecionová also noted that she will try to get support “across the political spectrum” for any proposals. She stated this when asked if she would be willing to negotiate with the Patriots for Europe faction as well.

90′ ČT24: Vrecionová will lead the agricultural committee in the EP (source: ČT24)

Niedermayer was vice-chairman of the Economic Committee already in the previous period. “This will also be an important committee that will deal with the issue of Europe’s competitiveness, which has become one of the main topics on the agenda for the next five years. It will deal with deepening the common market, for example in the area of ​​services, building a banking union and a common capital market. These are all things that Niedermayer mentioned after his election,” the ČT reporter pointed out.

“Being elected again to the leadership of the Economic and Monetary Committee is for me an obligation and an appreciation of my work here so far,” Niedermayer himself said after his election. Specifically, he pointed out the prevention of money laundering in the Union, the change of fiscal rules important for more responsible management of countries or the modification of rules for solving banking crises. He called greater competitiveness of the EU economy a necessity. “It is the key to the growth of living standards and as Europe we have a lot of catching up to do here. One of the tasks of the day that I want to focus on myself will be, for example, the promotion of better use of the potential of the common market,” he outlined.

Isolation of the extreme right

“The cordon sanitaire is of course reflected in the election of the leadership, but the positions of coordinators and rapporteurs are very important, and even if we are in the so-called cordon, there are still rules in the European Parliament where the opposition cannot be excluded,” said MEP Jaroslava Pokorná Jermanová (ANO). According to her, it is not the case that the opposition, for example, did not receive any materials. “Each faction has a certain number of points that are allocated during the distribution of materials, and the opposition cannot be bypassed, so we will do the job,” she assured, adding that the ANO coordinators are very capable.

The so-called cordon sanitaire is a rule that was already applied in the past, but also now, by populists, socialists and liberals. It is an informal agreement to isolate the extreme right. In practice, this means not allowing its representatives in the EP to gain any high position.

MEPs elected the leadership of all twenty committees and four subcommittees. Each committee elects a chairperson and up to four vice-chairpersons for a term of office of two and a half years, i.e. for half of the EP electoral term. Representatives of the strongest faction of the European People’s Party (EPP) head seven committees and one subcommittee, while the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) chair five committees. Representatives of the new factions Patriots for Europe (Patriots for Europe) and Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) did not win a single position in the leadership of the committees.

At the end of the last electoral period, the Czech Republic had five vice-chairmen of committees and subcommittees. Jan Zahradil (ODS, ECR) was vice-chairman of the Committee for International Trade (INTA), Niedermayer (TOP 09, EPP) vice-chairman of the Economic and Monetary Committee (ECON), Michaela Šojdrová (KDU-ČSL, EPP) was vice-chairman of the Committee for Culture and Education (CULT), Radka Maxová (independent, elected for ANO) was vice-chair in the Committee for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) and Martin Hlaváček (ANO, then Renewal of Europe) was the number two man in the Sub-Committee on Fiscal Affairs (FISC).

Czechs will be the coordinators

However, Czech MEPs also hold the important functions of the already mentioned coordinators, who are the representatives of the entire faction in the given committee. For example, Tomáš Zdechovský (KDU-ČSL) is the EPP coordinator in the Committee for Budget Control (CONT). Alexandr Vondra (ODS), in turn, is the coordinator of his ECR faction in the Committee for the Environment and Public Health (ENVI).

Representatives of the Czech ANO movement will also have their coordinators or vice-coordinators for the new Patriots for Europe faction, declared MEP Ondřej Knotek (ANO). According to him, everything is still being confirmed. His colleague Klára Dostálová should become a coordinator in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO), he himself should hold the same position in the ENVI committee and Ondřej Kovařík (for ANO) in the ECON committee or the FISC tax affairs subcommittee.

ČT reporter Petr Obrovský on the election of committee leaders in the European Parliament (source: ČT24)

According to some experts, the coordinator is even a more important position than the chairman of the given committee. Being the chairman is a prestigious position, the head of the committee decides on its activities and what will be discussed when and how the meeting will proceed. However, the coordinator represents and promotes the policy and positions of his faction in the given committee and also promotes them in all reports or resolutions. It is the coordinators from the individual factions in the given committees who also deal with the distribution of reports, i.e. who will be the rapporteur for the given legal regulations.

MEP Ondřej Knotek (ANO) considers the role of the vice-chairman in the committee to be “paper”, i.e. formal. According to him, the chairman of the committees and then the so-called coordinators have influence. The ANO movement will have them, “so when it comes to promoting Czech interests in legislation, we can do much better as a result”.

MEP Tomáš Zdechovský (KDU-ČSL) believes in substantive negotiations on the budget, where he can imagine cooperation across factions, perhaps with Patriots for Europe. On the contrary, he does not expect it, for example, when discussing the report on the state of the rule of law in Europe, which will be published on Wednesday.