Meloni resigns as ECR group president and backs Morawiecki for presidency

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is stepping down as president of the EU’s conservative ECR group and expressed her support for former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki for this position.

Giorgia Meloni said that “political stability” is what “makes Italy more credible both nationally and internationally.”.

In her speech to the party’s annual conference in Rome on December 15, Meloni stated, “I agreed to extend my mandate when asked, but now that the elections are over, I believe I have fulfilled my responsibilities.”

“I plan to step down as President of the European Conservatives. The ECR deserves a full-time leader, and I believe Morawiecki will be among the possibilities. Mateusz, this applause confirms our support for you in this challenge,” Meloni stated as reported by Euractiv.

According to Euractiv, the planned succession has been a matter of debate for several months.

In Italy’s internal policy, Meloni applauded her government’s “political stability,” describing it as “the greatest break from the past in Italian politics.” She voiced confidence that her government would carry out its mandate, stressing the unity of her majority coalition in Italy.

Meloni reaffirmed her commitment to the contentious project of a migrant detention center in Albania in response to criticism from the Democratic Party leader, who accused her of spending €800 million on a “vacant prison in Albania meant for deporting individuals and violating their rights.”

The EU Court of Justice has halted the processing of migrants in Albanian detention centers, but Meloni has insisted that it will continue.

She justified Italy’s accord with Albania as a model of deterrence, claiming that “disembarking outside EU borders changes everything.”

Meloni also accused the left of attempting to obstruct the selection of Raffaele Fitto, a party friend, as executive vice president of the new European Commission.

European Conservatives and Reformists Group

The European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) is a soft Eurosceptic political group of the European Parliament.

The group is eurosceptic and right-wing, with center-right and far-right factions. The main objective of the ECR is to oppose unchecked European integration, enlargement, and potential evolution of the EU into a federal European superstate and to ensure the EU does not significantly influence domestic decision-making within EU member countries. ECR Group also advocates for stricter controls on immigration.

During the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the group has taken a pro-Ukrainian and anti-Russian stance, whereas Identity and Democracy mainly consists of pro-Russian parties. Members of the ECR tend to be pro-NATO, including more coordination between the EU and the US while taking a more critical view of the influence of China and Russia in Europe.

For the 2024 European Parliament election, the ECR campaigned for revisions to the European Green New Deal and for stronger border control measures. The group increased its number of MEPs to 84 and became the third largest group in the European Parliament, overtaking Renew Europe.

Prior to the election, there was media speculation that Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party would join the group after talks with Brothers of Italy and its leader Giorgia Meloni; however, after the election, it was alleged Fidesz was blocked from joining the ECR, while other press outlets claimed that Fidesz chose not to join due to previous disagreements. Following this, Orbán established the Patriots for Europe group.