Germany's Poettering elected EU Parliament chief (Roundup)

Jan 16, 2007, 12:20 GMT

Brussels - German conservative Hans Gert Pottering on Tuesday took over as the new president of the European Union Parliament after winning an absolute majority of 450 votes out of 689 votes cast.

Poettering, 61, is a member of the EU parliament's largest and most influential conservative group known as the European Peoples Party. He replaces Spanish Socialist Josep Borrell who has headed the assembly since mid-2004.

The German conservative's election comes as no surprise given a controversial power-sharing deal worked out by the EPP and the Socialists - the assembly's second largest group - in 2004.

Despite the predictable result, however, Poettering's formal election was described as a 'great moment for our political group' by new EPP chairman, Frenchman Joseph Daul.

Poettering, who has headed the EPP group since 1999, has vowed to stand up to pressure by big member states and to be a 'fair and objective president' of the assembly.

In his farewell speech to the Strasbourg plenary on Monday, Josep Borrell warned his successor to 'remain vigilant' and prevent a deterioration of the parliament's clout vis a vis governments.

As a Christian democrat ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country holds the current EU presidency, Poettering is expected to boost the influence of the assembly through his contacts in Berlin.

But he has argued that being in Merkel's party does not mean he will follow instructions from Berlin.