For this discussion, we are joined by experts including Richard Schenk from the Hungarian think tank MCC Brussels, Lena Schilling, an Austrian member of the European Parliament representing the Greens, and Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, a Dutch member of the European Parliament from the liberal Renew Europe group. Méabh Mc Mahon from Euronews updates us from Valencia.
The European People’s Party, with backing from over a dozen heads of state and government in the Council, stood out as the victor in the last year’s European elections. At their conference in Valencia this week, they are capitalizing on their recent victories, especially in Germany. Rebounds in leadership and upcoming changes, including a possible hand over from the current German chancellor to a new one, have the party optimistic about its influence in the future of the European Union.
Following the recent snap election in February, the Merkel’s successor’s party, led by Friedrich Merz, came out as the leading political party in Germany, ahead of the far-right AfD. Merz confronts a two-way choice in forming a coalition: partnering with the Social Democrats or the far-right AfD. Having previously ruled out any collaboration with the far right, the decision to join forces with the outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz’s party was inevitable.
In Berlin, Merz has recently negotiated a sizable increase in spending for Germany with the support of the Greens, a move not favoured by everyone in his party. This new stance emboldens Merz to be more assertive in Brussels and confront global leaders like Donald Trump, but the question remains: is this beneficial for Europe?
The conference in Valencia is also marked by significant controversy amid public protests. These demonstrations serve as a stark reminder to the conservative regional government’s mishandling of the catastrophic floods in October, as locals argue that they were inadequately warned of the impending disaster.
In hindsight, was Valencia an appropriate location to host the EPP congress? On 13 May, Ursula von der Leyen plans to meet with representatives of the affected parties in Brussels – is this step aligned with the best interests of the victims?
Embark on the intriguing political dialogue with ‘Brussels, My Love?’ through the video above.
Source: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/05/03/brussels-my-love-the-epp-congress-overshadowed-by-power-outage-and-protests
