The new European Commission will have three main priorities – innovation, decarbonization and security, said its head Ursula von der Leyen in a speech in the European Parliament, when she introduced individual members of her incoming team to the MEPs. The chairwoman of the current and future commission also emphasized the importance of increasing defense spending and the need to maintain the unity of the European Union.
Photo: SITA/AP, Jean-Francois Badias
The President of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, introduced all 26 members of the future college of commissioners to the MEPs in the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday morning. She spoke briefly about their work agenda and the importance of this agenda for the EU and Europeans.
According to von der Leyen, Europe must play a stronger role in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa. In this context, she mentioned in particular the role of the new head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, but also of the future Czech representative in the commission, Jozef Síkela, who will be in charge of international partnership.
MEPs will approve the new commission as a whole in the afternoon, while von der Leyen’s team must win a simple majority, i.e. a supermajority of all valid votes cast. The European Parliament now has 720 members, and based on the positions of the main factions so far, it can be expected to approve the new commission.
“We all want the best for Europe and must remain united in this complex world. Any disunity will be immediately used against us,” said von der Leyen to MEPs in the morning. In connection with EU security, the head of the EU executive mentioned that Russia, which has been leading the aggression against Ukraine since 2022, spends nine percent of its gross domestic product on military spending, while Europe averages only 1.9 percent. “Our defense market must increase, we must improve military mobility,” she said, adding that within 100 days the commission will present a so-called white paper on European defense that will summarize all the important steps.
The European Commission consists of 27 members, headed by Ursula von der Leyen, and the Union is made up of 20 European Commissioners and six Executive Vice-Presidents.
Von der Leyen, who is the head of the European Commission for the second time, started her speech by mentioning the events of 1989 in many EU countries and the struggle of the people there for freedom and democracy. She also mentioned leaders such as Lech Walesa or Václav Havel, who “inspired entire countries and helped unite the entire continent.” “The fight for freedom unites us as Europeans. It is our past and our present,” said the head of the EC.
“I think that our generation of Europeans must fight again for freedom and sovereignty. For the freedom that the Ukrainian people are heroically fighting for. For the freedom to create your own future in this unstable world. But this freedom is not just an abstract word. Europeans want to know that their families will be safe, that their country will be protected, that they will be able to afford to buy food, heat their homes and receive decent wages,” she added.
Achieving these freedoms, however, will not be free, the head of the EU executive emphasized before the MEPs. “It will mean difficult choices. It will mean a massive investment in our security and prosperity. But above all, it means staying united and faithful to our values,” she declared. “We will look for ways to work together and overcome fragmentation. That’s what I – and all 26 women and men with me – will strive for every day. And we are ready to start working immediately,” she added.
Source: spravy.pravda.sk
