If von der Leyen succeeds, spending would be tied to economic reforms, where member states could be required to address gender disparities to qualify for social housing funds and promote organic farming to access agricultural subsidies.
Farmers’ organizations and right-wing parties in the EU parliament have been protesting this budget merger for months, but the Commission refuses to listen.
The EPP greenlit a Spanish socialist in exchange for an Italian conservative, even though Teresa Ribera said she won’t step down if prosecuted for mismanaging floods in Spain.
The social democrats are ready to back conservative Italian Raffaele Fitto in exchange for Ribera again, but VOX warned that the EPP will become “irrelevant” if it accepts the deal.
Talks between the EU Parliament’s two largest parties broke down, with the S&D set to reject both Italy’s Raffaele Fitto and Hungary’s Olivér Várhelyi.
