Brussels, 23 July 2024
The new bureau of the Committee on Budgets consists of the following MEPs:
Chair: Johan Van Overtveldt (ECR, BE), elected with 32 votes in favour, 1 against and 7 abstentions
1st Vice-Chair: Monika Hohlmeier (EPP, DE), elected by acclamation
2nd Vice-Chair: Giuseppe Lupo (S&D, IT), elected by acclamation
3rd Vice-Chair: Janusz Lewandowski (EPP, PL), elected by acclamation
4th Vice-Chair: Lucia Yar (Renew, SK), who obtained 28 votes against candidate Angéline Furet (PfE, FR), 11 votes (39 votes cast, no abstentions)
The next meeting of the Committee on Budgets is later on the same day, Tuesday 23 July.
Bureau elections: rules
At the first committee meeting, and again two and a half years thereafter, the committee elects a bureau consisting of a Chair and of Vice-Chairs from among its full members in separate ballots. The diversity of Parliament must be reflected in the composition of the bureau of each committee.
More info: Rule 219 – Committee bureaux
ECR on the re-election of MEP Johan Van Overtveldt
The Committee on Budgets has re-elected ECR MEP Johan Van Overtveldt as its chairman. Van Overtveldt entered the European Parliament for the first time in 2014 for the Flemish centre-right party N-VA. A distinguished financial scientist and journalist, he served as Belgian Finance Minister from October 2014 to 2018. He was re-elected to the European Parliament in the two subsequent European elections and has been chairman of the Committee on Budgets since 2019. He is also a member of the Bureau of the ECR Group.
Speaking after his election, Van Overtveldt said:
“I am honoured to be re-elected as Chair of the Budget Committee, and to have the confidence of my colleagues. I therefore look forward to a constructive cooperation. After all, important work awaits the Budget Committee over the next months and years. The annual budgets and the preparation of the next Multiannual Financial Framework are of course the cornerstones of our work. I sincerely hope that we can continue to evolve towards a future-proof budget that stimulates investment, supports the purchasing power of citizens and the competitiveness of our companies, and focuses on real and current needs, such as the support for Ukraine and strengthening military capacities in the European Union. It also remains our task to safeguard the quality of expenditures.”
ECR co-chairmen Nicola Procaccini and Joachim Brudziński congratulated Van Overtveldt on his re-election.