Two Germans elected as Vice Presidents of the EU Parliament
Overall, Metsola had 14 deputy representatives. Verheyen and Barley managed to make it through in the first round. Other candidates from the far-right faction and the European Left had to proceed to a second round.
The 59-year-old CDU woman Verheyen received 604 votes and thanked the deputies for their trust. It is more important than ever to "defend, build up, and strengthen the European Parliament and democracy," she declared. The politician from Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia has been a member of the European Parliament since 2009 and was running for a vice-presidency position for the first time.
The 55-year-old Barley received 450 votes. She intends to advocate for a more understandable European politics. "People expect solutions from politics, decisions must be made quickly and efficiently," she explained.
Barley ran as the SPD's leading candidate in the European election on June 9, 2021. The SPD achieved only 13.9% of the votes, which was the worst result for the party in a nationwide election.
In the previous legislative period, Barley made a name for herself as an expert on the rule of law. The native Cologne resident is the daughter of a German mother and a British father. She was the SPD's General Secretary from 2015 to 2017. Then, in 2017, she became the Federal Family Minister in the grand coalition under Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU). In the EU election 2019, she was elected to the European Parliament.
Verheyen and Barley, both prominent politicians, secured their positions as Vice Presidents in the European Parliament, with Verheyen receiving the most votes from her fellow deputies. The CDU's Verheyen, a seasoned European Parliament member since 2009, emphasized the importance of defending, building, and strengthening the European Parliament and democracy. The SPD's Barley, on the other hand, expressed her intent to advocate for a more transparent European politics, acknowledging the need for quick and efficient decisions in the face of public expectations. Although the SDP faced a challenging election in 2021, claiming only 13.9% of the votes, Katarina Barley, with her expertise in the rule of law, continued her European Parliament journey, mirroring her dedication to democracy and public service, which she inherited from her German and British parents.
