The British daily also stated that von der Leyen used a private plane for more than half of her official trips as head of the European Union’s executive, namely 18 out of 34 since December 2019. In this way, according to the daily, she has also moved short distances from Brussels in the past. , for example to Paris or London.
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The climb from Vienna to Bratislava took place in June this year, when the head of the EC in the EU member states gradually presented the approval of national recovery plans after the covid-19 pandemic. After the meeting in Bratislava, she immediately headed to Riga, Latvia.
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According to the DPA, the head of the European Taxpayers’ Association, Michael Jäger, described von der Leyen’s action as an “environmental sin” that “costs the taxpayer a lot of money, a lot of time (…) and, above all, a lot of credibility”.
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Commission spokesman Eric Mamer told the German tabloid Bild that the reason for the 19-minute flight from the Austrian to the Slovak capital was demanding logistics.
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“The president was supposed to visit seven countries in two days on this trip after leaving Belgium. Alternatives were being tested, but logistically there was no other option,” the spokesman said, adding that given the ongoing trip to Riga, it did not make sense to use another means of transport. According to him, von der Leyen used the private plane due to the effects of the pandemic on the offer of commercial flights.
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