Luxembourg Social Democrat Marc Angel has been elected as the new Vice President of the European Parliament. He succeeds the Greek Eva Kaili, who is involved in the corruption scandal. Angel prevailed against two colleagues in the second ballot.
He received 307 votes. Angel still missed the necessary absolute majority on the first ballot. His opponents were the French green politician Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield and the Italian right-wing politician Annalisa Tardino (from the ID group). Tardino received 185 votes, Delbos-Corfield just under 100.
Angel, 59, completed his studies in Vienna as a translator for English, French and German and postgraduate studies in tourism. He later worked as a teacher at a hotel and tourism management school in Luxembourg before entering politics, where he was a member of the Luxembourg City Council and the Grand Duchy’s Parliament. In May 2019, he was elected to the European Parliament, where he is a member of several committees and Vice-Chair of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.
predecessor deposed
The background to the election is that Angel’s predecessor, Eva Kaili, lost her position as vice president on suspicion of corruption. In mid-December, MPs then voted with just one vote against to sack the 44-year-old. She is currently imprisoned in Belgium. As reported, Kaili and other suspects are charged with money laundering, corruption and involvement in a criminal organization. It concerns alleged influence on political decisions by Qatar and Morocco.
Austrian MPs congratulations
Andreas Schieder, head of the SPÖ-EU delegation, and Evelyn Regner, Vice-President of the European Parliament, congratulated Angel in a broadcast. “We are convinced that he will fulfill this role in the interest of European citizens. At the moment it is important to fill this post with someone who is trustworthy and honest, who will shape progressive politics with us and work with us towards greater transparency,” said the two Austrian MPs.
The head of the Greens delegation, Monika Vana, also congratulated the Luxembourger, but stated at the same time that the Greens “continue to put pressure on Parliament to introduce a zero-tolerance anti-corruption strategy.” whistleblowers, an independent ethics authority with investigative powers and a reform of the transparency register.
Source: Krone
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