The brawl between former titans of the European Parliament — who for years dominated as the “grand coalition,” able to sway the majority in the face of the remaining parliamentarians — has begun.

The biggest political group in the Parliament, the conservative EPP, and the second-largest, S&D, are fighting over whether they will still be able to cooperate - this time on the simplification of EU rules and postponement of obligations for businesses. An important vote on Thursday could expose the future relation between the two political groups.

After last year’s election, the EPP can now muster its own majority with nationalist parties, some of which are considered far-right.

However, the potential backlash from fraternising and voting with the far-right worries some members of the group. They would prefer not to be nationally accused of embracing the far-right.

This concern could give S&D an advantageous negotiating position.

SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC DEMANDS PUSH CONSERVATIVE AWAY
Alas, multiple sources from the European Parliament tell EU Matters Media that the social democrats could risk pushing the EPP right into the arms of the parties to the far-right.

Right now, S&D insists on building a stonewall between the EPP and ECR — the conservative, nationalist group led in part by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party, Brothers of Italy. A social democratic demand that EPP so far completely rejects.

If S&D wishes to avoid brutal exclusion from influence — as its “grand coalition” with the EPP subjected the minority in the European Parliament to for decades — the group might have to swallow its pride and disdain for ECR.

S&D might test the waters to see how voters respond to the fear of a right-leaning reign for the rest of the mandate, hoping it will scare the EPP back towards the centrists.

On the contrary, advisers in Parliament speculate whether the majority, during the Thursday vote, might decide to try to rule on future proposals to cut red tape — potentially leaving the rest of the Parliament scrambling for influence.

GREENS HUNGRY FOR INFLUENCE AND OPEN TO CONSERVATIVES
Currently, parliamentarians are pondering what they will do in Thursday’s vote on whether to fast-track the legislative proposal to postpone sustainability reporting obligations for businesses.

The decision would speed up the typical processes in Parliament. It would allow European companies more time before needing to comply, while the EU institutions negotiate the rest of the omnibus package on how to cut red tape.

According to sources in the political group the Greens, discussions were held among MEPs on potentially supporting the postponement of reporting obligations on environmental impact. The idea was to simply show a willingness to compromise on the group’s key priorities in order to be able to cooperate with the EPP.

Though, many politicians in the Greens remained unconvinced, despite Nordic efforts to push for a pragmatic approach. The EPP’s seeming unwillingness to compromise and its refusal to commit to further cuts to environmental reporting rules were seen as too wide a gap to close.

Still, even an internal debate on supporting the EPP’s push for postponement reveals a new pragmatic logic among some Green politicians, which could prove necessary to ensure collaboration with the centrists, including EPP, in the future.

THURSDAY VOTE WILL SHOW FUTURE COALITIONS
The recent drama between the EPP and S&D was sparked when the latter demanded that the EPP commit to not supporting significant cuts to the reporting rules on environmental impact.

In response, the EPP maintained that ECR should be invited to vote with the coalition of S&D and the liberals in Renew.

This request proved too much for the S&D to swallow. So far, the group cannot accept ECR as part of a centrist coalition.

Renew has, for now, found peace in cooperating with ECR — but this could quickly crack if the topic is not as important to the French-led liberals as cutting red tape for businesses.

ECR itself has already stated its wish for the EU’s simplification effort to be even more ambitious. While some in the EPP are ready to accept the proposal presented by the Commission, others would happily extend the postponement and simplify rules even further.

However, the possibility of allying with the nationalists and far right to reach an agreement on bureaucratic burdens risks alienating the most centrist voters of the EPP.

As a self-proclaimed kingmaker of the Parliament, the EPP fantasises about being the big dog — possibly choosing when to lean right (far-right) and when to call on the centrist coalition for support. If they can actually be called upon.

Now, S&D will have to decide whether to support the vote to fast-track delaying reporting obligations — possibly putting them in a better position to exert influence on the rest of the omnibus packages. They must balance the wish to combat nationalism with the political need for parliamentary power.

From the conservative group’s point of view, the S&D will have to drop key demands if the two former titans are to form a powerful alliance again.

Tomorrow’s vote is part of the EU Commission’s omnibus simplification Packages. This first omnibus proposal aims to reduce reporting obligations and mitigate demands to police supply chains for possible environmental damages and human rights violations.

The EU Commission has teased at least three omnibus packages this year to axe reporting obligations and simplify investments — and more could follow, as part of a broader move to improve the competitiveness of European businesses.

On Tuesday, a convincing majority in the European Parliament confirmed the urgency procedure to be voted on Thursday concerning the postponement of environmental reporting obligations.

The majority reached 427 parliamentarians, including most members of the right-wing, conservative, and liberal groups. By comparison, the minority gathered only 221 votes, which included the left-wing groups and the social democrats.