Von der Leyen to boast of achievements but stay mum on second term

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen delivers her annual State of the Union address Wednesday (13 September) with expectations she will emphasise her achievements but give little away as to whether she wants a second term in office.

Political manoeuvres, though, are already underway ahead of European Union elections in June next year that will lead to a shake-up of those at the helms of the bloc’s guiding institutions.

Already von der Leyen – a German former defence minister who has headed the European Commission since 2019 – has lost a couple of commissioners who have set their eyes on political posts elsewhere before the curtain falls.

But she herself is well-placed should she seek a fresh five-year term.

Over the course of her current mandate she has navigated the EU through the storms of Brexit, the Covid pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine that roiled energy supplies, while also seeing through a shift towards a carbon-neutral future and reining in Big Tech’s market excesses.

Face of the EU

Her performance has been praised by most of the bloc’s 27 member countries. International partners such as the United States have also come around to see her as the face of EU governance – the number they can call in Brussels.

Von der Leyen has given nothing away about what is in her State of the Union speech to be delivered to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

But officials and EU-watchers say it is likely to go heavier on policy successes than on future business that will stretch beyond her time in office.

Still, ears will prick up at any mention of the bloc enlarging to take in candidate countries to the east – Ukraine among them – and the internal reforms the EU will need to make that happen.

The Commission is soon to present its recommendations on opening adhesion negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. Five Balkan countries – Albania, Bosnia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia – also want in, and Turkey has revived a push to advance its bid.

European Council President Charles Michel, who chairs EU summits, has staked out a position calling for the European Union to take on new members “by 2030”.

When it comes to the EU’s Green Deal, von der Leyen can boast about steering the bloc to adopting ambitious goals.

But 37 other bills have yet to be passed, among them a Nature Restoration text, and another on heavy-vehicle emissions.

They have run into headwinds from von der Leyen’s own conservative political family, the European People’s Party, which has a pro-business stance.

Some EU countries have also urged a “pause” on green legislation, complaining that they are adding to the burden faced by farmers and companies at a time of economic fragility and the rise of far-right political groups capitalising on euroscepticism.

Urged not to ‘give way’

Manfred Weber, the EPP’s leader in the European Parliament and a fellow German who lost out to von der Leyen when the European Commission job was decided, said Tuesday that economic issues were his party’s “priorities”.

On the left of the parliament, Iratxe Garcia Perez, the head of the Socialists and Democrats grouping, called on von der Leyen to not “give way at all” on policies to combat climate change.

Migration is another thorny issue for von der Leyen, with several countries including Greece, Italy, Poland and Hungary pushing for more hardline approaches as asylum applications soar.

Von der Leyen in July signed a pact with Tunisia termed a “strategic partnership” aimed at curbing the number of irregular migrants leaving that country by boat with hopes of making it to Europe.

She has called the deal – which echoed one already agreed with Turkey in 2016 – a model for other accords to be done in the region.