MEPs approved by a large majority (461 votes in favour, 157 against and 89 abstentions) on Wednesday 27 November, the composition of the von der Leyen Commission, which will officially take office on 1 December.
“I am very happy. I feel humbled by this overwhelming majority”, Mrs von der Leyen told the press, describing the approval of MEPs as a “vote of confidence”.
This majority is larger than the one obtained by the Juncker Commission in 2014 (423 in favour, 209 against and 67 abstentions). The latter did not fail to salute this success. “I know that, under your leadership, we will see a stronger, greener and more digital environment, and I wish you good luck!”, he said via Twitter to Mrs von der Leyen.
While a simple majority was not in doubt, such a lead was not necessarily expected (see EUROPE 12377/2).
All the Members of the EPP group voted in favour of the College. The same applies to members of the Renew Europe group, with four exceptions. The S&D group was more divided, but supported the Commission by a majority, while the Greens/EFA, also divided, mainly abstained. The members of the GUE/NGL and those of the Identity and Democracy (ID) group remained united in their opposition to the new Commission, with the unanimous vote of those voting for ID and with two exceptions (one for, one abstention) for the GUE/NGL.
The ECR group’s unity has completely exploded. The deputies, who were free to vote with their conscience, were divided between supporters of the Commission (30 votes in favour), those who abstained (16) and those opposed (14).
Reactions from European Parliament political groups
Logically, the EPP, Renew Europe and S&D groups welcomed the result, while the GUE/NGL and ID deplored it. For their part, the Greens/EFA Group tried to explain their large abstention.
EPP Group Chairman Manfred Weber (Germany) described this Commission as “unique and historic”, “for it is headed by a woman and is composed of more women than any other previous Commission”. He also called for “protecting, guaranteeing and promoting” the “European way of life”, praising its benefits (democracy, rule of law, freedom of expression, prohibition of the death penalty, etc.) and considering it preferable to Chinese and American lifestyles.
S&D President Iratxe García Pérez (Spain) welcomed the fact that her group had succeeded in obtaining “crucial portfolios” this new College, expressing in particular her confidence in the Executive Vice-President responsible for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, and in the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, both Social Democrats.
Believing that the von der Leyen Commission’s agenda will be green and red (for social issues), she called for the EU to “find its social soul again”. And while welcoming the near parity between men and women in the College, Mrs García Pérez called for a European directive to eradicate gender-based violence.
For his part, Romanian Dacian Cioloş, President of Renew Europe, pointed out that his group’s broad vote in favour of the Commission did not constitute a blank cheque. He asked the new Commission to show vision, passion and ambition, in order to “inspire citizens” and “ reconnect with Europe”.
Mr Cioloş then highlighted the need to make the European economy carbon neutral by 2050, with the help of the ‘Just Transition Fund’, a European Climate Bank and the multiannual financial framework, as well as the need to develop European digital champions.
Greens/EFA group Co-President Ska Keller (Germany) explained that environmentalists could neither bring themselves to wield a red card nor sign a blank cheque to the new Commission. The reasons for their large abstention had already been revealed to the press the day before (see EUROPE 12377/2).
On the one hand, environmentalists blame the von der Leyen Commission for a lack of coherence between environmental rhetoric and the lack of commitment to a thorough reform of the EU’s trade and agricultural policy. On the other hand, they are committed to working constructively together to address climate change and inequalities and to ensure the rule of law.
“The climate emergency is forcing us to take sincere action and rally behind concrete objectives, even if Ursula von der Leyen did not want to involve environmentalists in her majority”, said the other Greens/EFA Co-President, Belgian Philippe Lamberts.
Not surprisingly, the ID group castigated this new Commission which, in their view, will work towards “transforming Europe as a large, paralysed market with neither identity nor borders”. According to the head of the French delegation of the ID Group, Jordan Bardella, the von der Leyen team is in line with the Juncker Commission, refusing to break with “obsolete logics” (free trade agreements, unfair competition, posted work, liberalisation of public services, federalism and migratory laxity). “ Juncker, von der Leyen.... A game of musical chairs to above all change nothing”, he denounced.
The ECR group, for its part, expressed its questions and concerns about the implementation of the new Commission’s climate commitments, in particular the negative consequences they could have on the economies of some more vulnerable countries.
Before the vote, Manon Aubry, co-president of the GUE/NGL group, said that it might be the “vote of the century” because the stakes are so high. The climate catastrophe and the crisis of inequality cannot be accommodated by vague or contradictory commitments, she warned.
However, in her view, despite encouraging promises from the future Commission, the hearings of the Commissioners were not entirely satisfactory, either ethically or substantively. Fearing the lack of independence of some of them, Ms Aubry castigated the continuation of climate-killing free trade agreements, the existence of tax havens within Europe itself, with complete impunity, the refusal to welcome exiles with dignity, as well as the straitjacket of austerity.
“You cannot be firefighters and pyromaniacs”, she decreed.
A smooth speech
During the plenary debate, Mrs von der Leyen made a final concession to the European Parliament by announcing the modification of the name of Mariya Gabriel’s portfolio to include culture. Mrs Gabriel is now “Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth”, she said.
The future President of the Commission has also not forgotten her promise of parity. We are “only one woman away from gender balance”, she said, stressing the intention to do more in the future. “Every Member of my College will have a gender-balanced Cabinet – for the very first time. And by the end of our mandate, we will have gender equality at all levels of management – for the very first time. This will change the face of the Commission”, she promised.
In a speech in French and English, Mrs von der Leyen presented an ambitious work programme. For 40 minutes, the priorities of her “Geopolitical” Commission were swept aside: climate, but also digital, migration, the economy or foreign policy.
As for announcements, it will be necessary to wait. The Commission’s work programme will only be presented at the end of January or early February 2020.
On climate, an “an existential issue for Europe – and for the world” Mrs von der Leyen said that Europe had “the duty to act and the power to lead”, in particular by setting international standards.
The future President of the Commission will be at COP25 in Madrid as of Monday 2 December, the day after she takes office. Before presenting, on 11 December, the European Green Deal, “our new growth strategy. It will help us cut emissions while creating jobs. [...] It is a generational transition towards climate neutrality by mid-century. But this transition must be just and inclusive – or it will not happen at all”, she warned.
Moreover, for the future president, “there is no future without digitalisation”, the opportunities and risks of which must be seized. “We must be able to strike a smart balance where the market cannot. We must protect our European well‑being and our European values. In the digital age, we must continue on our European path”, she explained.
According to the German Christian Democrat, the EU must master and possess essential technologies, such as quantum computers, artificial intelligence, block chains and critical chip technologies.
Mrs von der Leyen said that Thierry Breton would be responsible for designing a data strategy, “a framework to enable governments and companies to share data [non-personal, editor’s note] and to pool it securely”. A European Enhanced Cybersecurity Agency will also be created.
“We should harness this transformative power of the twin digital and climate transition to strengthen our own industrial base and innovation potential”, said Mrs von der Leyen.
To manage the migration challenge, which has divided states for years, the incoming President announced that a package of measures on migration would be presented at the end of the first quarter or beginning of the second quarter of 2020. “We must reform our asylum system, never forgetting our values of solidarity and responsibility”, she explained. She also emphasised, “a Europe that is so proud of its values and so proud of its rule of law has to be able to come up with an answer that is both humane and effective [to the migration issue]”.
On the economic and social front, Mrs von der Leyen called for the deepening of Economic and Monetary Union “in order to make our financial system stronger and more resilient”.
“We must use the flexibility allowed under the Stability and Growth Pact to give the time and the space for our economies to grow. And at the same time, we must support Member States with targeted investments and structural reforms”, she summarised. The completion of the banking union in the euro area and the capital markets union are also priorities.
The Commission will also present “a framework to ensure that every worker in our Union has a fair minimum wage”.
At the international level, the Geopolitical Commission called for by Mrs von der Leyen will engage in dialogue with “with the world as a responsible power [and] be a force for peace and for positive change”. The accession of the Western Balkans to the EU, the maintenance of the transatlantic link and the promotion of “open and fair trade”, which includes a chapter on sustainable development, are priorities that should enable Europe to assert its own interests vis-à-vis its international partners.
Finally, Mrs von der Leyen announced the launch, at the beginning of 2020, of “an ambitious cancer plan” by Commissioner Stella Kyriakides, who was herself affected by this disease a few years ago. This subject is close to the heart of the future president, who confessed to having lost, as a child, an 11-year-old sister who had been struck by cancer.
See the speech by Mrs von der Leyen: http://bit.ly/2DhTKxN (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Damien Genicot)