Feijóo attends this Tuesday the EPP Congress in Rotterdam, with a new direction in which Pons enters and Istúriz leaves

The German Weber will replace the Polish Tusk in the Presidency of the EPP during this conclave, which promotes a resolution on Ukraine

MADRID, 30 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, will attend this Tuesday the 27th Congress of the European People's Party (EPP) held in Rotterdam, in which the German Manfred Weber will be elected president of this European political family, replacing the Polish Donald Tusk . The new management will have in its team the Valencian MEP Esteban González Pons, who will occupy a Vice Presidency, but this incorporation entails the departure of the Navarrese Antonio López-Istúriz from the General Secretariat of the PP, a position in which he has been 20 years.

This is Feijóo's first international trip since he was elected president of the PP on April 2 in Seville and there he will defend a policy of "maximum respect" for the institutions and will share the economic plan based on tax reductions for medium and low incomes in Spain to curb "runaway" inflation, as well as greater efficiency in the use of community funds and public spending, according to sources from his team.

During these two days in Rotterdam, Feijóo will speak before the plenary and hold meetings with a dozen European leaders, such as the Prime Ministers of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, or Romania, Nicolae Ciuca. In addition, he will meet former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and hold bilateral meetings with representatives of the sister parties in Germany, France or the Netherlands.

Weber will have in his team the Valencian MEP Esteban González Pons, current deputy secretary of Institutional of the PP and a person of maximum confidence of Feijóo. He will occupy one of the ten vice-presidencies of the EPP and his work will be focused on relations with Latin America and the United States, also including powers related to the supervision of the management of European funds.

However, the entry of González Pons entails de facto the departure of another Spaniard from the Executive, since the Navarrese MEP Antonio López-Istúriz will leave the General Secretariat of the European People's Party, a position he has held since March 2002 and in which He aspired to be re-elected until 2024, sources from his environment have told Europa Press.

The Spanish PP has had the General Secretariat of the EPP since shortly before the year 2000, when the then Prime Minister José María Aznar negotiated that position for Alejandro Agag, whom López-Istúriz later replaced.

Weber has been the only candidate for the Presidency of the PP, as confirmed last Saturday. Apart from Pons, the candidates for vice president are: Esther de Lange (Holland); Mariya Gabriel (Bulgaria); Johannes Hanhn (Austria); Andrzej Halicki (Poland); David McAllister (Germany); Siegfried Muresan (Romania); Petteri Orpo (Finland); Franck Proust (France); Dubravka Suica (Croatia); and Antonio Tajani (Italy).

Apart from 10 vice-presidents, the Rotterdam congress will also elect a treasurer, a position to which Paulo Rangel (Portugal) aspires; and Tomas Zdechovsky (Czechia). PP sources have indicated that Weber wants to introduce changes in the structure and give more political powers to the Vice Presidencies.

The war in Ukraine will occupy a central place in the EPP congress, which will promote a specific resolution in which it is urged to invest in European strategic sovereignty after the Russian invasion, with measures to reinforce common defense, guarantee the supply of food in Europe or reorient energy policy to end dependence on fossil fuel imports from Russia.

In terms of energy, it is committed to diversifying the gas supply with urgent investments in new liquefied natural gas terminals, halting the closure of coal-fired power plants for a year or committing to all available energy sources, including nuclear, among other proposals .

In addition, several members of the Ukrainian opposition are expected to attend this conclave that is being held in the Dutch city, such as Yulia Tymoshenko; Petro Poroshenko and Vitali Klychko, have advanced training sources.

In its motion for a resolution, entitled "United in Solidarity with Ukraine: Defending European Values ​​Against Putin's War", the EPP stresses that Russia's war in Ukraine is "a threat" to Western democracies; for the security, prosperity and values ​​of Western democracies, as well as for the international order itself.

For this reason, he is committed to taking measures to strengthen the defense and security architecture or to put an end to imports of fossil fuels that "finance the Putin regime". "The EU must invest in its strategic sovereignty, in its ability to act and in its ability to recover," he says, adding that they must also be on the side of the countries that aspire to join the European Union, such as Ukraine.

In his opinion, the EU should grant Ukraine the status of an EU candidate and start accession negotiations "without delay". The EPP believes that this can be achieved already at the European Council in June 2022, which would be a "timely message to the Ukrainian people in their fight for European values ​​and would show a clear signal of EU support and assistance to the brave Ukrainian people who defends not only his country but the whole of Europe".