The biggest news out of the June 18-19 summit in Brussels was the announcement of a tentative compromise regarding Ireland and the Lisbon Treaty. One year on from the referendum which some saw as a nail in the treaty’s coffin, Ireland won specific assurances that the accord would not affect the country’s policies on issues like taxes, abortion and military neutrality.

This lays the groundwork for a second referendum, the date of which has not been set.
But for Polish observers of the summit, wrangling over who will become the next president of the European Parliament (EP) took center stage. Top politicians from the European People’s Party (EPP), currently the largest political grouping in the EP, engaged in political horse-trading over the issue. Their candidate will most probably head Europe’s legislative body.

Polish PM Donald Tusk and President Lech Kaczyński were in attendance and lobbied hard for former Polish prime minister Jerzy Buzek, who is regarded as one of two front-runners in the race to secure the EPP’s nomination. However, his main opponent, Italy’s Mario Mauro, is being tirelessly championed by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

The Italian PM described Mauro, who has served as a vice president of the European Parliament for the last five years, as a strong candidate and “a practicing Catholic.” Nevertheless, various sources have suggested Buzek enjoys broader favor than Mauro, and the Polish prime minister remained optimistic about his countryman’s chances.

“The opinions of the particular delegations seem to be favorable towards Buzek,” he told journalists on the first day of the Brussels summit. According to Tusk, Poland can count on support from the French faction in the EPP party. Before the summit in Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was also reportedly favoring Buzek.

An intra-EPP vote was expected to take place on July 7 if neither Buzek nor Mauro exited the race beforehand.