, since 2019 the European Commissioner for jobs and social rights, will head the list of the Party of European Socialists (PES) in the forthcoming June elections.
The position will only be validated at the party congress, taking place in Rome on 2 March, but the deal appears to be already done. “I can confirm that Nicolas Schmit has fulfilled the necessary criteria to stand as the PES joint candidate for the presidency of the European Commission,” said Giacomo Filibeck, the party’s secretary general, in a statement. “He has received broad support from PES member parties, and next week the PES will officially validate his candidacy. Once this is done, then--united as a family--we will move towards our electoral congress. In Rome, Nicolas Schmit will be presented for election as the PES common candidate, launching the PES campaign for the 2024 European elections.”
Schmit, the only declared candidate, will “fight for a stronger Europe that defends its values against a resurgent far right,” says the statement. “A fairer Europe with quality jobs, tax justice, affordable housing and good public services for all.”
“And a more sustainable Europe based on a socially just European Green Pact and an innovative and inclusive green and digital economy.”
The Luxembourger and LSAP member, from his tenure as a European Commissioner, has solid experience at the EU level. “He has taken forward the commission’s work to protect people during the multiple crises facing the EU,” continues the statement, “[and its work to] put the value and dignity of work first, ensure that work pays, deliver equal opportunities and social inclusion, strengthen Europe’s social market and economy, and shape fair transitions, including investing in the next generation.”
The PES’s agenda has effected changes, says the statement, related to the minimum wage directive, legislation on health and safety at work, initiatives on minimum income and care, the global approach to skills and the action plan for the social economy. “This illustrates, in concrete terms, the social breakthrough the party has achieved at the EU level.”
This article in Paperjam. It has been translated and edited for Delano.