Vote pact returns Schulz as head of European Parliament

STRASBOURG

Members of the European Parliament re-elected Martin Schulz as parliamentary president Tuesday.

More than half of the parliament’s 751 lawmakers voted in favor of the German social democrat, giving him another two-and-a-half-year term in office. He has been president of the European Parliament since January 2012.

Schulz, 58, had been the nominated candidate of the Party of European Socialists to take the post of president of European Commission after May European elections.

However, after losing in favor of the European People's Party center-right group, the socialists agreed to vote in favor of the EPP candidate for the president of European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.

In exchange, Schulz took the votes of EPP parliament members in the race to be re-elected as the parliament’s president, beating three rival candidates in the process.

Before the newly elected parliament's members cast their votes by secret ballot, Schulz called for the abolition of hierarchy among European institutions during the seventh legislature.

As no political group won an absolute majority of seats "the leader of the house has a duty to cooperate across political parties," he said.

"I am standing again to represent this house with dignity and to debate EU democracy in the future", Schulz added, according to a statement.

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