A recent conference organised at Villa Salviati by the European Parliament Former Members Association (FMA) and the Historical Archives shed light on the political contours of the recent 2024 European Parliament (EP) elections by platforming insights from former MEPs along with quantitative and qualitative research carried out at the EUI. The event focused most closely on executive accountability, voter trends, and political group coalitions.
Jacopo Cellini, Research Fellow at the HAEU, underscored the value the conference, stating that “It was a great opportunity to exchange views with former and current practitioners and MEPs. Scholars work with data and sources but should not forget that people are a key factor in their analysis. The dialogue between academics, experts and testimonies enriched our understanding of the EP’s past and present”.
Four session, four approaches
The conference ‘The European Parliament: Past, present and future’ opened with brief remarks by former MEP Monica Baldi, Vice-President of the FMA and Dieter Schlenker, Director of the HAEU. Lisbeth Kirk, founder of the EUobserver then moderated a roundtable in which former MEPs and EP officials representing a range political parties offered their takes on the outcome of the 2024 elections. Former President of the European Parliament Enrique Baron Crespo, former Secretary-General of the European Parliament Klaus Welle, and former MEPs Fabio Massimo Castaldo and Eva Lichtenberger shared their impressions.
The agenda continued with three research-focused sessions that tackled critical topics:
Historians Alfredo De Feo and Michael Shackleton presented their work in a panel on the European Parliament’s executive accountability, chaired by Professor Adrienne Héritier. De Feo remarked particularly on the modifications to accountability mechanisms witnessed over time, often driven by institutional transformations and crises response. While Professor De Feo observes what appears to be waning powers of scrutiny on the part of the EP and the European Court of Auditors (ECA), panel discussant Martin Weber of the European Court of Auditors instead found reasons for optimism in simplified procedures and soft law measures that could enhance scrutiny. Professor Shackleton instead focused on the institutional accountability of the Commission, using the 1999 Santer Commission resignation crisis as a case study. His talk elucidated the contrasting interpretations of the crisis, according to qualitative data gleaned from oral history interviews archived at the HAEU.
The election of the European Commission President—one of the first tasks of the newly installed MEPs—came under examination in a panel chaired by EUI political scientist Simon Hix. On 18 July, MEPs reconfirmed President Ursula von der Leyen with 401 votes in favour, a decision with significant political and strategic implications. This session looked over the process of electing the Commission’s president and college in historical perspective, focussing on the growing role of the EP and outlining future scenarios.
The final panel, moderated by UNIFI Professor Sorina Soare, discussed recent research on the 2024 European elections and the relations between political groups in the European Parliament. Luciano Bardi and Jacopo Cellini presented their newly published study on interparty relations in the EP, where they examined historical trends and current perspectives for coalition-building. Lorenzo Cicchi and Andres Reiljan further informed the discussion with fresh data from the Voting Advice Application, EU&I, which mapped ideological shifts and regional voting patterns across Europe. Their insights revealed points of polarization and potential points of consensus within the EU’s political landscape, and also treated the ideological profiles and coherence of the EP political groups. Johan Ryngaert (former EPP Group official) and Gérard Laprat (former EP official) discussed the two papers.
Future challenges and resources for EU institutions
As the European Union faces mounting challenges, the insights generated during this conference underscore the importance of coalition-building, historical perspective, and adaptability in shaping the future of EU governance.
In considering the many perspectives and insights that emerged over the course of the conference, former MEP Monica Baldi, Vice-President of the FMA, looked to the future, stating that “The fragmentation of many parties does not lead to easy choices considering the divisions that exist on many issues, including international politics, defence, immigration, rights, citizenship, enlargement and the Green Deal. I believe it is necessary to continue to reflect on these issues, and that the results of the work of these two days could guide the development of an open forum for discussion in which citizens and interested institutions can also be involved.”