Liberals search top job for Strack-Zimmermann, defence chair a possibility

As negotiations on the EU parliament’s top jobs are due to heat up next week, the Liberals’ main lead candidate, German Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, has yet to find an office, her preferred post – chairing a new defence committee – is highly contested.

The discussions for the top jobs in the European Commission and European Parliament are in full swing.  Their allocation is expected to be decided by informal deals between representatives of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), the Social Democrats (S&D) and liberal Renew Europe over the next few days.

As lead candidate of the EPP, Ursula von der Leyen is the favourite to re-take the Commission presidency once more. While her S&D challenger, Nicolas Schmit, is banking on a deal to remain Luxembourg’s Commissioner.

Things are, however, not as straightforward for Strack-Zimmermann of the German Free Democratic Party (FDP), who led the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) into the election race – Renew Europe’s largest European member party in the EU parliament.

“It is clear that we throw our support behind our lead candidate Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann filling an important position,” a source close to the group told Euractiv.

The liberal lead candidate trio – Strack-Zimmermann, Valérie Hayer, who represented France’s Renaissance, and the Italian Sandro Gozi who represented the European Democratic Party (EDP)  – would be tipped for parliamentary roles, negotiations on which are due to move forward next week.

As the dominance of Hayer and Renaissance wanes following the European Election results, and Gozi represents a relatively small liberal party, the pressure is on to find an appropriate job for Strack-Zimmermann.

The German gave up a powerful position as head of the German parliament’s defence committee, and possibly her influence in the country’s politics, to head the FDP campaign.

Battle for the defence chair

But the Liberals are facing challenges as their power is fading and the number of high level positions are limited, meaning that several options have to be considered, two sources close to the group told Euractiv.

According to sources, Strack-Zimmermann and her party have made it their primary goal to put her in charge of a potential new defence committee in the European Parliament, if political groups agree to convert from a sub-committee to a full committee next week.

However, competition is fierce.

Notably, Nathalie Loiseau, a prominent French defence expert who sits with Strack-Zimmermann, has repeatedly laid claim to the committee’s chair and remains interested in it, she told Euractiv.

The position has also caught the attention of the EPP.

“We have a large number of highly qualified people in the EPP Group who could and should chair committees,” a source from the group’s German delegation told Euractiv.

“For us Germans, industry would be important, but also foreign affairs and defence, if a new committee is created.”

However it is still far from certain that the committee will be formed, and what competences it will have.

Defence is a national rather than an EU competence, meaning that the committee would only have oversight powers over the EU’s new defence industry policy.

This area however is currently under the authority of existing committees. The competence would therefore remain split, which would curb the influence of the defence committee.

Alternatives are needed

There could be a possibility to make Strack-Zimmermann one of the parliament’s vice-presidents instead, the group sources said.

This role was assumed by previous FDP lead candidates in 2014 and 2019, but it comes with comparatively little power over policy.

For starters, Strack-Zimmermann has taken on the FDP delegation leadership.

Notably, the struggle to place the ALDE lead candidate in a new position also takes place in the middle of a power struggle within the Renew group as delegations are trying to take the group presidency from Hayer and France‘s Renaissance.

Belgium’s Sophie Wilmès appears to be in the pole position to be leader if Hayer does not stay on, but as a high-profile politician Wilmès has alternative options after the Belgian election.

According to a source close to her, Strack-Zimmermann is not interested in the group presidency. However, she has previously stepped up at short notice when needed, when she took on ALDE’s lead candidacy.

*Aurélie Pugnet and Nikolaus J. Kurmayer contributed to reporting

[Edited by Aurélie Pugnet/ Rajnish Singh]

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