2009 European Parliament election Jerzy Buzek (EPP, Poland) was elected Parliament President, winning with 555 votes to 89 votes over his opponent Eva-Britt Svensson (EUL-NGL, Sweden). The two candidates were: MEPs voted in a secret ballot on Tuesday morning 14 July 2009. The two largest groups in Parliament, the EPP-ED and PES, agreed to share the post of President of the European Parliament as they have done for all but two terms of Parliament. The first half of the term was taken by Jerzy Buzek MEP of the EPP, who was the first MEP from Eastern Europe to hold the post. He passed it
Jerzy Buzek "motor of integration." Affirming his commitment to the Eastern Partnership and "those who do not have the possibility to participate in our European integration project", Buzek announced that the prize money would be donated to the European Humanities University (EHU), A Belarusian university in exile in Vilnius. The Lisbon Treaty, which came into force on 1 December 2009 shortly after Buzek assumed office, brought a conclusion to nearly a decade of internal discussions and greatly boosted the democratic powers of the European Parliament. From very early on Buzek has been a vocal supporter of the treaty as part of a