Ursula von der Leyen re-elected as EU Commission President
The European Parliament has re-elected Ursula von der Leyen as President of the EU Commission. She was combative in her speech beforehand.
Ursula von der Leyen in the European Parliament on Thursday.
(Image: EU-Parlament)
Ursula von der Leyen has been elected President of the European Commission for a further five years. In the European Parliament on Thursday, 401 MEPs voted for the CDU politician, 248 against her with 15 abstentions and 7 blank ballots.
Earlier in her candidacy speech, von der Leyen had passionately called for a determined fight against demagogues and extremists. In view of the war in Ukraine, the EU must also invest more in security and defense. The missiles fired at a children's hospital and a maternity ward in Kyiv were not a mistake on the part of Russia, but a message, said von der Leyen.
However, it was not just about external dangers, but also about increasing cyber and hybrid threats. Organized crime networks "earn enormous sums with drug trafficking, Ransomware, fraud and human trafficking and do not stop at national borders". It is necessary for the EU to respond to this growing threat, he said, and for this to happen, the police must be able to work across borders throughout Europe.
"For this reason, I will propose doubling Europol's staff and strengthening its mandate. I want Europol to become a truly effective police authority," said von der Leyen. And for "more efficiency with full respect for fundamental rights, I will propose tripling the number of European border and coast guards to 30,000". More secure borders should help to manage migration in a more structured and fairer way.
More money for renewable energies
In the past five years, investment in renewable energies has tripled, the EU Commission President summarized. "In the first half of this year, 50 percent of our electricity generation came from renewable energy sources." The EU must continue on this path. She will therefore propose a "Clean Industrial Deal" in the first 100 days of her new term of office.
The aim is to channel investments in infrastructure and industry, particularly towards energy-intensive sectors. This could create lead markets for everything from clean steel to clean technologies and reduce energy costs. "We need to become faster and simpler, because Europe is decarbonizing and industrializing at the same time," said von der Leyen. Approval processes must therefore be accelerated.
Fiercest storm in economic history
"In the last five years, we have weathered the most violent storm in the economic history of our Union," said von der Leyen. "We have emerged stronger from the shock of the lockdowns and have overcome an unprecedented energy crisis. We have achieved this together and I believe we can be proud of this. But we also know that our competitiveness needs a strong boost."
Specifically, von der Leyen therefore announced initiatives for more competitiveness and a stronger defense industry as well as measures for fair incomes for farmers. Von der Leyen said that we are in a time of great fear and uncertainty. However, she is convinced that a strong Europe is up to the challenges.
Von der Leyen wants to defuse the already decided "combustion engine phase-out" in the EU, in which more and more conservative parliamentarians had taken a stand against the original line, with exceptions for e-fuels. The EU had decided that from 2035, only new cars that do not emit any climate-damaging CO₂ during operation should be registered. At the urging of the FDP, the German government had campaigned for there to be exemptions for e-fuels. Germany already has an open-technology approach.
(anw)
