On Thursday 18 July in Strasbourg, the European Parliament re-elected German Christian Democrat Ursula von der Leyen by an absolute majority (401 votes in favour out of 360 required, 284 against, 15 abstentions, 7 invalid votes) for a second mandate as President of the European Commission, thanks to the support of the European Greens who gave her around 45 votes. In 2019, the President-elect of the Commission had obtained an absolute majority by just nine votes (see EUROPE 12297/1).
Speaking to the press, Ms von der Leyen thanked the MEPs for “the confidence” they had placed in her and for “the recognition of the hard work done over the last 5 years”. “401 votes in my favour is a lot better than last time”, she joked. She stated that the victorious “pan-European campaign” that she led as candidate for the European People’s Party (EPP) had helped to make European democracy “more vibrant”.
Asked about her wish to work with a pro-European majority of four groups within the European Parliament, Ms von der Leyen said she was “very grateful” to the “pro-European, pro-Ukraine and pro-Rule of Law” platform made up of the EPP, S&D and Renew Europe groups, as well as the Greens/EFA group.
With the Greens, “we had in-depth discussions on all subjects, and it’s a good sign that they supported me”, she said, convinced that the result of her re-election shows that “the approach was the right one”.
The President-elect has laid the foundations for the College she is preparing to form. In the coming weeks, the Member States will be invited to put forward two candidates - one man and one woman - so that a team can be put together that respects gender parity, unless an existing European Commissioner is reappointed. Interviews will be held with the chosen personalities from mid-August with a view to presenting the ‘von der Leyen II’ Commission in September. The hearings of the Commissioners-designate will take place at the European Parliament in the autumn, before they take up their duties in December.
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, said that the MEPs’ choice was “the best possible decision for Europe”. She noted Ms von der Leyen’s willingness to strengthen relations between the Commission and the European Parliament and her support for granting Parliament a “right of initiative”.
In her well-calibrated speech on Thursday morning, the EPP candidate recalled how far Europe has come in the last 5 years, marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and Russian military aggression in Ukraine. She sent out the signals that the pro-European groups were waiting for to support her, even if this support, imposed by the realism of the results of the European elections which saw the Liberals and the Greens weakened, was expressed without overflowing enthusiasm.
Mr von der Leyen presented MEPs with “a clear choice”: “Whether we will be shaped by events and the world around us or whether we will come together and build our future for ourselves?”. According to the President-elect of the Commission, only “a strong Europe” can provide answers to these Manichean questions and take account of the concerns expressed by citizens at the European elections, foremost among which are their demands for prosperity, protection and security.
Economic competitiveness, the number one priority
Economic competitiveness is one of Ms von der Leyen’s top priorities. In her opinion, it is certainly necessary to “stay the course” in implementing the European Green Deal, which was the number one priority in 2019, by maintaining the 2030 and 2050 targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and including a 90% reduction in emissions by 2040 in the EU’s Climate Law.
But the ‘Green Deal’ must now be used to stimulate economic competitiveness and job creation. It is necessary to “reconcile climate protection with a prosperous economy”, emphasised Mrs von der Leyen, making this imperative a question of “intergenerational fairness”.
Pointing to Europe’s strengths, in particular its ability to attract more investment in hydrogen than the United States and China combined, the President-elect has announced a ‘Clean Industrial Deal’ within the first 100 days of her second mandate to guide investment, particularly in energy-intensive industries such as steel. The Deal should also help to reduce consumers’ energy bills.
“From AI to clean tech, the future of our prosperity must be made in Europe”, stressed Ms von der Leyen.
To support this industrial deal, the President-elect intends to propose a new ‘European Competitiveness Fund’ as part of the reform of the post-2027 EU budget, whose “power to leverage” should make it possible to mobilise “more private and public funding”. This fund will focus on joint, cross-border European projects designed to ensure that strategic technologies are developed in Europe.
Raising the question of public funding at European level, this fund foreshadows the coming battle to define the post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework, according to a diplomatic source.
Other private sources of finance will be mobilised to stimulate investment by deepening the Capital Markets Union, and in particular the creation of a ‘European Savings and Investment Union’, an idea promoted by France.
Making life easier for businesses, especially SMEs, will be another of the Commission’s economic priorities. The President-elect says she believes it is necessary to “reduce reporting obligations and cut red tape, but also to increase confidence, improve compliance with the rules and speed up the granting of permits”. Each future European Commissioner will have to analyse his or her portfolio in order to reduce the bureaucratic burden, and a Vice-President of the Commission will coordinate this work.
A Commission with its finger on the pulse of the EU’s regions
During her speech, Ms von der Leyen spoke out in favour of a “strong cohesion policy”, designed in partnership with local authorities, while at the beginning of the week the German Ministry of Finance fired a shot across the bow of this redistribution policy (see EUROPE 13455/13).
However, according to this diplomatic source, these comments allow Ms von der Leyen to simply tick the ‘cohesion’ box, so as not to be accused of hiding the issue.
The President-elect has endeavoured to demonstrate that, during her campaign as EPP ‘Spitzenkandidat’, she listened to the concerns and hopes of Europe’s citizens.
Paying tribute to farmers, “a part of our European culture”, she promised to take account of the recommendations that will emerge from the strategic dialogue on the future of agriculture, which will be launched at the beginning of 2024 and which will attempt to respond to the farmers’ anger. “No one should be forced to sell good food below production costs. We must strengthen the position of our farmers in the food industry value chain”, she declared.
Eager to offer farmers “smarter incentives” to embrace a sustainable approach to biodiversity, she said she would present a plan for agriculture to “address the need to adapt to climate change” and, in parallel, “a strategy for sustainable management of the precious resource of water”, echoing the call made the previous day by 21 Member States (see EUROPE 13455/10).
The President-elect also wants to tackle “those issues that Europeans feel the most in their daily lives”, such as “the housing crisis”. This was a repeated request from the S&D, Greens/EFA and The Left groups.
“People are struggling to find affordable homes. This is why, for the first time, I will be appointing a (European) Commissioner with direct responsibility for housing”, she announced. She intends to develop “a European Affordable Housing Plan, to look at all the drivers of the crisis and to help unlock the private and public investment needed”. And to those who question the EU’s competence in this area, Ms von der Leyen replied: “If it matters to Europeans, it matters to Europe”.
On social issues, the German Christian Democrat advocated a new action plan for the implementation of the Pillar of Social Rights. This plan will aim to respond to the many new challenges that have emerged “from the impact of AI to mental health at work”, she stressed. “We must ensure fair transitions and good working conditions for workers and self-employed people”, she said, underlining the importance of strengthening the “Social Dialogue”.
On the subject of women’s rights, she focused on the successes of the previous legislature, without announcing any major new initiatives. All she mentioned was “a Roadmap” for achieving equality between men and women, particularly in terms of pay. As for LGBTIQ people, they were ignored.
Finally, to parents concerned about the consequences of their children spending too much time on screens, the President-elect of the Commission said she was convinced that “social media, and excessive screen time and addictive practices, have played their part” for what has been described as “a mental health crisis”. She announced the launch of the "first-ever European-wide enquiry on the impact of social media on the wellbeing of young people”.
Building a European Democracy Shield
The German Christian Democrat warned at length of the threats, both from within and outside the EU, to democracy, which has been taken for granted for too long. “We have become comfort democrats. But today, our democracies are under threat”, warned Mrs von der Leyen.
To respond to “cases of spying, cyber-attacks, corruption and disinformation by foreign actors, in particular the Russians and Chinese”, she announced that the Commission will propose a “European Democracy Shield”. A dedicated “structure” to counter foreign information manipulation and interference which will pool all expertise and link up and coordinate with existing national agencies. “Intelligence and detection capabilities must be bolstered”, said Ms von der Leyen, adding that “there is an urgent need to provide the European Union with powerful cyber-defence tools, to impose transparency on foreign funding of our public life as a common rule, but also to guarantee a reliable information framework”.
On the subject of the Rule of law, the political leader promised to strengthen all existing tools. In particular, the annual Rule of Law Report in the Member States will include a ‘Single Market’ dimension to help protect companies. And, for the current and future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF),”we will keep to a very clear principle in our budget - respecting the Rule of law is a must for EU funds. It is non-negotiable”, she stressed.
After deciding that the Commission will from now on only be represented at a technical level at the informal ministerial meetings of the Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council, Ursula von der Leyen criticised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ‘peace mission’ to Kyiv, Moscow, Beijing and Washington. “This so-called peace mission was nothing but an appeasement mission”, she said, eliciting loud applause in the Chamber.
While Russia is betting on a weakening of European and Western support for Ukraine, she reiterated the EU27’s determination to stand by Ukraine “for as long as it takes”. One of the ways of delivering on this promise will be to build “a true European Defence Union”. The aim will be to create a European market and “invest together” in high-end defence capabilities and “common European projects” such as a “comprehensive aerial defence system”.
Another strong symbol of protection for citizens, according to Ms von der Leyen, is the protection of the EU’s external borders. Adopted during the previous legislature, the Asylum and Migration Pact will have to be applied, and further steps will have to be taken to identify “a common approach on returns” of illegal migrants that is both more effective and respectful of the EU’s fundamental values.
The President-elect also announced that she will appoint a European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, with a view to forging new “ comprehensive partnerships”, without specifying whether this would replicate the type of agreement reached with Tunisia in July 2023 (see EUROPE 13224/3). She recommended tripling and doubling the staffing levels of the European agencies Frontex and Europol respectively.
Stopping the bloodshed in Gaza
Concerning international issues, the German Christian Democrat briefly touched on the future enlargement of the EU, which she said will require an internal reform of the way the Union operates. “The Western Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia have made their free choice. They have chosen democracy over dependency”, she stressed, pointing out that the accession process is based solely on the merits of each candidate country.
Often criticised for her “too German” vision of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, characterised by an unwavering defence of Israel due to the weight of her country’s history, the President-elect said that “too many children, women and civilians have lost their lives as a result of Israel’s response to Hamas’ brutal terror”. “The bloodshed in Gaza must stop now”, she insisted, reiterating the official position of the Europeans: call for a ceasefire to allow a massive influx of humanitarian aid, release the Israeli hostages and act to create the conditions for a political settlement of the conflict.
With these objectives in mind, the Commission is working on “a much larger multi-year package to support an effective Palestinian Authority”. And Ms von der Leyen concluded with: “The two-state solution is the best way to ensure security of both, to Israelis and Palestinians”.
To see Ms von der Leyen’s speech: https://aeur.eu/f/d2m
To see Mrs von der Leyen’s political guidelines for the 2024-2029 Commission: https://aeur.eu/f/d2o (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)