Former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki replaced Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as president of the EU’s European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group on January 14.
Meloni stepped down in December after a four-year term.
“We will be ready to work with anyone who supports the idea of returning power to sovereign nations,” said Morawiecki in a Brussels press conference after his election.
“This goes far beyond the centralisation of power in the European Commission,” said Morawiecki, from Poland’s Law and Justice party (PiS).
On centralisation, or ‘federalisation’, he added: “This is wrong; we have already warned the Commission and will do everything possible to reverse this misguided trajectory.”
One of his goals was to “revitalise Europe,” rejecting a “disconnection” of the EU from the United States and China, and instead advocating for “strengthening” of transatlantic relations.
“The European Union was much stronger with the United States when it worked in cooperation”, he said.
“We are different; we have distinct interests and will defend our European interests, but all of this must take place in the context of a new global strategic political situation”, added Morawiecki.
“I believe we should cooperate with China as much as we can. This is a free world, particularly in regard to the transatlantic community. We must work together peacefully, collaborating with one another,” he said.
Morawiecki’s election sparked responses from other parliamentary blocs.
Manfred Weber, leader of the European People’s Party (EPP), criticised the ECR’s stance toward the European Commission and described references to a “Europe of nations” as a step backward in the bloc’s integration.
Meanwhile, Iratxe García Pérez, president of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group, said “this narrative seeks to weaken the Union’s ability to act united on critical issues such as the climate crisis and equality.”
Stéphane Séjourné, leader of Renew Europe, emphasised the importance of “avoiding internal divisions that could compromise the EU’s technological competitiveness against powers like China and the United States.”
ECR is currently the European Parliament’s fourth-largest group with 80 members. Its two largest national delegations are Meloni’s Brothers of Italy and Poland’s Law and Justice, with 24 and 20 representatives respectively.
During her leadership of the ECR, Meloni managed to consolidate the bloc as one of the European Parliament’s main Eurosceptic forces, with an agenda focused on national sovereignty and reducing centralisation of power in Brussels.
Poland has denied reports that it blocked a flight taken by a Slovakian delegation to Moscow from crossing its airspace. https://t.co/QIwTwICpPg
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) January 14, 2025
