ABSTRACT
No group, not even the largest, holds a majority in the EP. Experience tells us that it is quite normal to seek out majorities in such a situation. In the last Parliament, we [the European People’s Party] came to an agreement with the Liberals [on the EP President] … Parliament would, however, be somewhat out of balance if … the second-largest group in this House [the Socialists] were to be kept out of the Presidential office for at least twelve-and-a-half years. For that reason, we have come to this agreement with the Socialist Group … We in this Parliament have a great interest in the stability of the European institutions … The issues will still be there, and will still be bones of contention, but it is important that the institutions be stable.
