AS/STA
18. 7. 2024, 10.43
Updated: 18/07/2024, 10.59
In today’s speech before the vote on her appointment, the candidate for the future president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, advocated the establishment of a “real defense European Union”. In the field of economic competitiveness, she announced the preparation of a plan for a clean industry and the final elimination of dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
“We must do everything necessary to protect European citizens. It is Europe’s duty to protect Europe. So I think it is time to establish a real defense European Union,” is by the Leyen she said in the European Parliament in Strasbourg in presenting her priorities for the next five-year period.
In her opinion, this is especially necessary in the face of Russian aggression against Ukraine, which must be supported as long as necessary.
In doing so, she was critical of the recent visit of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Moscow, where he met with the Russian president Vladimir Putin. “The so-called peacekeeping mission was nothing but a mission of appeasement,” emphasized the candidate for the future president of the European Commission.
In her speech, she also recalled Putin’s blackmail by cutting off the supply of fossil fuels and announced that she would work to end the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels “once and for all”.
At the same time, investing in domestic sources of clean energy will contribute to the competitiveness of the European economy, which von der Leyen highlighted as her first priority in the event of re-election. To this end, she also announced the preparation of an agreement for clean industry in the first hundred days of the new mandate.
In her opinion, in order to make the European economy more competitive, the administrative burden for European companies must also be reduced. She will thus instruct all members of her future commissioner team to review where it is possible to reduce the burden, and everything will be coordinated by the competent vice president of the European Commission.
She announced that her new team will include, among other things, commissioners responsible for defense, housing policy and cooperation with countries in the Mediterranean, especially in the area of ​​migration.
According to von der Leyen, effective protection of external borders is key to managing migration, so she will propose tripling the staff of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) to 30,000. He also plans to propose doubling the staff of the European Police Office (Europol).
Early this afternoon, the European Parliament will decide on the re-appointment of the German politician Ursula von der Leyen from the European People’s Party (EPP) as head of the European Commission, where she has been since 2019. She needs the support of 361 out of a total of 720 members of the European Parliament, whereby the outcome of the vote is uncertain.
Source: svet24.si
