European Parliament leadership elections see shifts in political group roles

New leadership elections for major political groups in the European Parliament have resulted in varying outcomes for Portuguese representatives.

Ana Catarina Mendes of the Socialist Party (PS) has been re-elected as vice-president of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group for another two and a half years. Mendes expressed satisfaction with the result, emphasizing her commitment to defending democracy and the rule of law. The S&D group also saw the renewal of Iratxe García Pérez as president and the addition of a new vice-presidency to be held by Biljana Borzan.

In contrast, Sebastião Bugalho of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) failed in his bid to become vice-president of the European People's Party (EPP) group. His defeat means the PSD lacks representation in the EPP leadership for the first time since 2004. The EPP group opted to replace outgoing vice-president Lídia Pereira with Hungarian MEP Eszter Lakos.