Ursula von der Leyen bids for a second mandate with pledges on “prosperity and competitiveness”

The European Parliament re-elected Ursula von der Leyen as president of the European Commission with 401 votes in favor, 284 against and 15 abstentions. Seven ballots were void. There were 707 voters. The minimum majority required for election was 360.

The top priority for the next five years “will be prosperity and competitiveness”. “In the last five years we have weathered the most catastrophic storms in European history, including lockdowns and energy crises, and we can be proud of how we have worked,” Ursula von der Leyen said in her speech to the new European Parliament in 720 members to gain their confidence for a second term as president of the European Commission.

“With the changing fundamentals of the economy, Europe must shift gears by facilitating the business world, with less bureaucracy, more trust, faster approvals and more reporting.” Each commissioner in the next college, von der Leyen proposed, “must work within his or her portfolio to have burden reduction.” One of the commissioners will be vice president in charge of coordination and dedicated to reporting “progress once a year”.

The new green industry pact mentioned before MEPs will include solutions for energy-intensive industries, including steel production.

A competitive Europe needs “businesses that can rely on European institutions” and operate a space where we “are able to reconcile climate protection and a prosperous economy.” “We also have to do this for future generations, who will never forgive us if we fail to rise to the challenges: this is about justice between generations, the younger generations deserve this,” von der Leyen added.

The plan of the next Commission will also be “to invest in people’s skills, to complete the capital market: every year €300 billion goes to foreign markets and this capital is used to buy European companies from abroad and we need a deep and liquid capital market: Europe must be the home of opportunities and innovations,” said the chairwoman appointed June 27 by European leaders to lead the Executive once again.

Welcomed enthusiastically in the chamber was the announcement of a “new European competitiveness fund, which will focus on joint cross-border projects that will stimulate innovation.” It will serve to develop strategic, clean technologies that must be produced here in Europe,” he stressed.

Welcomed enthusiastically in the courtroom was the announcement of a “new European competitiveness fund, which will focus on joint cross-border projects that will stimulate innovation. It will serve to develop strategic, clean technologies that must be produced here in Europe,” he stressed.
The appointment of a commissioner in charge of the Mediterranean region to work alongside the high representative, for which Estonian Prime Minister-in-Office Kaja Kallas has been nominated, is one of the proposals in the policy outlines.

“The Mediterranean region should receive constant attention, and inviting countries into our union is a moral, historical issue, a geostrategic responsibility so that prosperity and democracy expand beyond European borders,” von der Leyen said before the 720 MEPs gathered for the first time in Strasbourg. The issue of neighbourly relations was linked in the speech to the war in Gaza, and the bloodshed and deaths “caused by Israel’s response against Hamas,” which “must end now.” Europe “must play its part, the two-state solution is the best way to ensure security,” he said again.

On defence, German policy insisted on changing course on spending. “We spend too much abroad, we need to invest more in high-end defence capabilities and create joint European projects such as an air defence system and a European air shield,” she said. Against cyber threats, the president-designate’s policies also include doubling Europol’s staff and strengthening its mandate to make it a truly operational agency. External border protection is to be ensured, in von der Leyen’s proposals, with three times as many agents from Frontex-the European border and coastal agency than the current level, increasing it to 30,000.

“I will work to ensure that farmers have a decent and fair income: no one will be forced to sell agricultural products below cost,” she said, referring to the agricultural sector. “Those who want to treat biodiversity sustainably and curb climate change must do so and take into account the plight of farmers,” he said addressing environmentalists.

Against problems in the world of work, he announced “an action plan for the implementation of the pillar of social rights.” A commissioner with direct responsibility for housing will be appointed to develop “a European housing plan that everyone can access with public and private investment.” “The Commission must help people. I want Europe to be the best place to grow up and grow old,” she added.

The next Commission should also commit to “develop the first European survey on the impact of social media on the well-being of young people,” she stressed. “There is more and more talk about what is called a growing mental crisis: it makes my heart cry when I see young people abusing the time they spend online,” von der Leyen said, drawing attention to young people and their plight” at a time of great development and vulnerability at the same time.”

The chamber responded with a long applause to criticism of Viktor Orban’s visit to Russia. “This so-called peace mission has only been a mission of appeasement, a policy of excessive concessions: only two days after Putin’s jets hit a children’s hospital. Our answer must be clear, no one wants peace more than Ukraine, and Europe will support Ukraine as long as necessary because, for the first time in decades, our freedom is at risk,” he said, insisting on the need to create a common defence.