EP PARTY GROUP COORDINATORS AND THEIR INFLUENCE

Party Group Coordinators occupy a crucial position in collective decision-making in the European Parliament (EP). Political coordinators are the nexus mediating between individual MEPs, national party delegations that citizens voted for, and the European party group. They are members chosen to represent their groups at preparatory discussions on policy guidelines, on the strategy pursued by the parliamentary committee and on organising the practical side of the committee’s work. They convene short meetings in closed session, where they assign rapporteurships to groups and each of them compiles voting instructions along which MEPs of their group vote very cohesively

Within every parliamentary committee a significant part is played by Party Group Coordinators. Party Group Coordinators considerably influence the work of the EP’s committee system, while often rivalling the committee’s bureau (chair and vice-chair persons).

Despite the importance of Party Group Coordinators for the EP’s day-to-day decision-making, much is not known about these influential individuals. Elected by each party group’s members on every committee at the start of each legislative term and mid-term, in line with other committee and EP leadership positions, their powers cover a considerable range of activities. In each committee they act as the party group’s spokesperson in the subject area concerned, debate the committee’s future agenda, allocate reports to one of the party groups, discuss forthcoming plenary votes and possible compromise amendments, establish the speakers’ lists for plenary sessions, prepare the organisation of the hearings of Commissioners-designate, and decide whether the Commissioners-designate are qualified.

Among the members of their party groups, they play a key role in formulating the party group’s policy, allocate (shadow) rapporteurships for legislative and non-legislative acts, and convene preparatory meetings before the start of the committee meeting. At the full plenary they maximise their party group’s presence during key votes in committee and the full plenary, and ensure voting cohesion among their party group’s contingent in committee and full plenary meetings. Coordinators are usually very committed MEPs, characterised by expertise, interpersonal and negotiating skills, paired with credibility to represent the party group line. Particularly in large groups, the post is often hotly contested and MEPs canvass and enmesh their colleagues in series of personal meetings. While there are some horizontal skills that coordinators require across the board, there are some differences across party groups.

Coordinators face different challenges when comparing small and large groups. In order to find a common party position, coordinators for large groups need to mediate between individual MEPs and various national party delegations. Those for smaller groups will often need to find compromises without immediate feedback from colleagues, and thus need excellent knowledge of their colleagues’ preferences in order for their group to support the deals and to protect their very own credibility. While coordinators form large groups will thus spend much of their time in meetings with MEPs from their own group, they can rely on colleagues’ support for (shadow-) rapporteurships. Their counterparts in smaller groups, in contrast, often need to engage in these themselves, and thus take part in many informal trilogues with the Commission and Council to draft amendments and negotiate with them.

Regardless of the party group, thorough expertise in the policy area is indispensable in order to credibly negotiate on these matters. Knowing the ins and outs of parliamentary work, i.e. EP experience, is likewise crucial. When executing these responsibilities, personal networks matter, and national party delegations are key components of these. Pulling the strings from behind the scenes, coordinators are thus key players in the Parliament, and a better understanding of their role will help us to better understand EU policy-making.