The European People's Party Wins the European Parliament Elections and will Form a Pro-Ukrainian Majority
The European People's Party, which won the European Parliament elections, will build a strong ‘centre’ in the European Parliament that will have a clear pro-European and pro-Ukrainian position.
Ursula von der Leyen, a leading candidate for the presidency of the European Commission from the European People's Party, said this in Brussels after the announcement of the preliminary results of the European Parliament elections, Ukrinform reports.
"I thank the voters for their trust. Today is a good day for the European People's Party. We have won the European elections. We are currently the strongest party and the basis for stability. I am grateful to the voters who have recognised our leadership over the past five years," she said.
She recalled that she had been on the campaign trail in recent weeks, visiting 17 European countries and more than 30 cities to learn about people's concerns and worries. Everywhere, von der Leyen said, she heard that citizens really value the European Union, and have confidence and trust in it. The leading EPP candidate thanked the member parties of this political family in the EU for the great work that made this result possible.
"These elections have sent us two messages: first, there is a majority in the “centre” for a strong Europe, and this is critical for stability. This ‘centre’ has been preserved. But it is also true that the extreme left and right have gained support. That is why these results mean a huge responsibility for the parties in the centre. We may disagree on different points, but we all have an interest in stability, we all want to see a strong and effective Europe," the European leader said.
Von der Leyen noted that she had been working hard throughout the campaign to form a political majority of pro-European forces. That is why the EPP will immediately start working with large political families with similar platforms, including the European Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and Renew Europe. The EPP political group has worked well with these forces over the past five years and looks forward to continuing the constructive and already proven good relations.
"I have always said that I want to build a broad majority for a strong Europe. I demonstrated during my first mandate what a strong Europe can achieve. My goal is to continue on this path with those forces that are pro-European, pro-Ukrainian, and stand for the rule of law. This work will start again tomorrow," Ursula von der Leyen said.
According to her, these elections did not take place in a vacuum: "The world around us is in turmoil. Various forces from outside and inside are trying to destabilise our societies, they are trying to weaken Europe. We will never allow this to happen."
Answering journalists' questions, the current President of the European Commission expressed confidence that she would be able to get support for continuing her work in this position from both the European Council and the European Parliament. Although, according to her, achieving this result will still require a lot of effort.