In May 1979, Simone Veil enters the electoral campaign for the first direct elections to the European Parliament, between 7 and 10 June 1979, with her 'Union for France' list.
On 17 July 1979, the French MEP Simone Veil is elected by her peers to the post of President of the European Parliament elected for the first time by direct universal suffrage.
On 12 December 1980, Simone Veil, President of the European Parliament, gives her views at the Europa-Union Congress in Munich on the economic, social and budgetary difficulties facing the European Community. She raises various solutions and recommends amending administrative practices rather than reforming the institutions.
On 17 July 1979, during the first session of the first directly-elected European Parliament, Simone Veil, the newly-elected President of the European Parliament, delivers a speech which throws the spotlight on the Parliament’s role as the driving force in the quest for European integration.
On 10 July 1986, in Luxembourg, Simone Veil, Chairman of the Liberal and Democratic Reformist Group in the European Parliament, gives an interview during which she welcomes the accession of Spain and Portugal to the European Communities, whilst highlighting the implications of this enlargement.
On 10 July 1986, in Luxembourg, Simone Veil, Chairman of the Liberal and Democratic Reformist Group in the European Parliament from 1979 to 1982, gives an interview during which she outlines, in particular, the political role of Parliament and its special responsibility as the democratic representative of the peoples of the Communities.
