EPAUrsula von der Leyen
NOS News•today, 1:15 PM•Adjusted today, 2:26 PM
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Kysia Hekster
European Union Correspondent
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Kysia Hekster
European Union Correspondent
The word is out: Ursula von der Leyen would like to become President of the European Commission again after the European Parliament elections in June. She announced this at a conference of her Christian Democratic party, the CDU, in Berlin.
Although almost everyone in Brussels assumed that she would compete for the next round, VDL, as Von der Leyen is known in Brussels, remained unclear about her ambition for a long time. There seems to be a good chance that she can achieve this. Last time she said she intuitively said ‘yes’ to the job, but now things are different. “It is a conscious and deliberate choice.” She has increasingly noticed what the European Union can do for its residents, which is how she motivates her candidacy.
Her Christian Democratic faction is leading in the polls for the parliamentary elections. After those elections, the German must be nominated by government leaders to lead the European Commission again. The EP must support that appointment.
Von der Leyen has received both much praise and criticism for her performance in recent years. Friend and foe alike agree that it has given the European Union a face. She is known as a maniacally hard worker who demands the same from those around her. To use her time as efficiently as possible, she sleeps at work during the week, in a small apartment on the thirteenth floor of the “Berlaymont”, the European Commission building.
Geopolitical Commission
When she took office, she said she wanted to head a “geopolitical committee”. In any case, we succeeded. Aided by numerous crises, including the corona pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis, the European Commission increasingly took the initiative.
For example, the Commission jointly purchased corona vaccines and the “corona recovery fund” was created, intended to help the 27 Member States absorb the economic consequences of the pandemic. It is a pot of jointly incurred debt, for which the EU borrowed hundreds of billions of euros on the capital market for the first time.
When Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine in 2022, the EU responded at breakneck speed. Within a week, millions of Ukrainians were given the right to live and work in the EU for years, and sanctions packages against Moscow followed in rapid succession. Weapons that EU countries supply to Ukraine can be reimbursed from the European “peace fund”.
Too much on your own
Its critics believe that VDL is far ahead of the troops and also operates too much on its own. She came under fire for her trip to Israel, shortly after the terrorist attack by Hamas. On X then let them know “that Israel can count on the EU’s unconditional support”, without paying attention to the fate of the Palestinians in Gaza.
Under Von der Leyen’s leadership, the European Commission has taken major steps in recent years towards European climate neutrality by 2050, as written in the “Green Deal”. Too big steps, some farmers think.
Last year, the BBB became the largest party in the Netherlands in the provincial elections. This was also noticed in Brussels. Von der Leyen’s own Christian Democratic faction in particular urged her to moderate her greening pace, for fear of losing the farmers’ vote.
Dialogue with farmers
In September she reached out to the agricultural sector. In her annual “speech from the throne” she expressed her appreciation for European farmers. “I would like to thank them for managing to provide us with food every day,” she said. She also announced a dialogue with the agricultural sector. It started at the end of January, in the middle of a period of farmers’ protests.
Now that VDL has announced that she wants to lead the European Commission for another five years, the European Christian Democrats must officially adopt her candidacy in March.
Turbulent times
The elections for the European Parliament are in early June. The government leaders will then consider the question of who should lead the European Commission. VDL scores high, partly due to the argument that stability is important in turbulent times with a war on the European continent.
If VDL is nominated, a majority of the European Parliament must then agree in July. That could be exciting. According to recent polls for the EP elections, the radical right parties are set to win big.
They think the German Christian Democrats are too progressive. Whether Von der Leyen can indeed start her second round is not yet entirely a foregone conclusion.
2024-02-19 12:15:54
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