This week’s key events presented by senior health and food reporter Gerardo Fortuna
Key diary dates
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Wednesday 17 July: European Court of Justice to rule on TikTok owner’s Bytedance’s challenge against designation as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act.
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Tuesday 16-Thursday 18 July: European Parliament’s opening plenary session
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Friday 19 July: Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the EU to present proposals on new genomic techniques during EU Council Working Group on Working Party on Genetic Resources and Innovation in Agriculture in Brussels.
In spotlight
The European Parliament will re-open following the EU elections hiatus, marking the official start of the new legislative mandate.
The atmosphere in Strasbourg will be highly charged as recent political electioneering lingers and key institutional positions, such as the Parliament’s president and vice presidents, remain to be filled.
The initial allocation of committee chairs has already sparked conflicts, particularly among those opposed to granting power to the far-right or including conservatives in structured political cooperation.
While it will be too early to have votes on policy this week, MEPs will face a crucial decision impacting future lawmaking: whether Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen will continue to lead the EU executive for the next five years.
Despite being backed by three pro-EU forces that hold a majority in Parliament, von der Leyen has not yet secured a broader majority, including support from parties like the Greens or the conservatives. This poses potential issues, as the vote is secret and party discipline cannot be enforced, leading to the possibility that some MEPs might pledge support but vote otherwise.
Regardless of the outcome of the confirmation vote, the parliamentary dynamics will necessarily shift. Although there was no surge in the far-right following the EU elections, the Parliament’s composition has nevertheless tilted rightwards.
Last week, two new far-right groups, Patriots for Europe (PfE) and Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN), were formed. Along with the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), these hard-right groups now hold 187 seats—just one fewer than the largest group, the European People’s Party (EPP)—representing nearly 26% of the total Parliament.
Each parliamentary committee is expected to reflect this composition, meaning a quarter of any committee members now hold radical positions. While hard-right groups may struggle to form a ruling coalition, they can act as a significant opposition force, potentially blocking or altering rules proposed by the Commission.
Moreover, the new composition means the EPP could potentially align with these forces on specific legislation, having frequently clashed with Greens and socialists on environmental issues in the past mandate, on issues such as the nature restoration.
Despite using a cordon sanitaire to prevent the radical right from power-sharing, and even if they play no part in von der Leyen’s re-appointment, the right-wing influence on lawmaking is likely to be felt.
Policy newsmakers
Musk hits back
The European Commissionannounced on Friday (12 July) that Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, had breached elements of the EU’s Digital Services Act. (DSA). In a series of posts on X, the billionaire owner threatened legal action “so that the people of Europe can know the truth”, claiming the European Commission tried to make an “illegal secret deal” with X over compliance with new EU rules to prevent online misinformation. “We look forward to a very public battle in court, so that the people of Europe can know the truth,” Musk baited Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton on X. “Be our guest, Elon Musk,” Breton replied, denying the existence of any secret deal.
