German Social Democrat Jutta Haug was elected, on 8 July in Strasbourg, to chair the new special EP committee on ‘political challenges’, which will work on the next multiannual financial framework 2014-2020 (see Europolitics4015). At its inaugural meeting, the committee’s 50 members also unanimously elected four vice-chairs: Anne Jensen (ALDE, Denmark), Jan Olbrycht (EPP, Poland), Konrad Szymanski (ECR, Poland) and Helga Trüpel (Greens-EFA, Germany). Spanish national Salvador Garriga, EPP coordinator in the Committee on Budgets, was named rapporteur. The committee will get to work in September with the goal of submitting its report in spring 2011 before the European Commission presents formal proposals on the next financial framework. Haug hopes that the future report will have the support of a strong majority during the plenary vote, to give Parliament a “chance to influence the coming negotiations”.