The president's signature is required for laws initiated under co-decision and the EU budget.

President Josep Borrell MEP of Spain gave his counterparts a crystal cup created by an artist from Barcelona which had engraved upon it parts of the Charter of Fundamental Rights among other things.

Ukrainian ambassador to the EU Andriy Veselovsky praised the framework and clarified it in his own terms: The president of the European Commission speaks as the EU's "government" while the president of the European Council is a "strategist".

The Parliament's president meanwhile articulates the EU's values such as democratic elections in other countries.

[10] Jerzy Buzek, former prime minister of Poland and member of Solidarity Electoral Action, was elected as the first president from the central and eastern European countries which joined in the 2000s (more precisely, he is the first person from a country that joined the EU after 1986 to hold the post).

The two major factions of the European Parliament, the EPP and the S&D, have reached a formal agreement to share the presidency under the 2009–2014 term.

[11] Martin Schulz (SPD, Germany), leader of the S&D group, was speculated as the likely nominee, and in the event he was elected on 17 January 2012.

[14][15] Meanwhile, Graham Watson, the leader of ALDE, stated he wished to challenge this system of carving up the post, and presented himself as a candidate.

[18] At the end of Martin Schulz's term, the presidency for the remainder of the eighth European Parliament (2014–2019) would have been due by convention to pass to an EPP member.

However, the EPP–S&D agreement appeared broken, making it less certain that Antonio Tajani (EPP, Italy) would be elected president.

[19][20] On 17 January 2017, Tajani was elected after four rounds of voting, following the withdrawal of Verhofstadt and declaration of support for the EPP candidate by the ALDE.

The election of the president for the first half of the term of the Ninth European Parliament took place on 3 July 2019.

[22] Following various periods of hospitalisation, David Sassoli died on 11 January 2022,[23] one week before the expiry of his term.

The candidates were the acting president Roberta Metsola (EPP, Malta),[25] Alice Bah Kuhnke (Greens/EFA, Sweden),[26] Kosma Złotowski (ECR, Poland; withdrew before the vote),[27] and Sira Rego (The Left, Spain).