Ursula von der Leyen defended her track record as European Commission chief on Wednesday (13 September), with a State of the Union speech that pitched her as a champion of European citizens on the economy, climate change, and migration.
Until recently, von der Leyen refused to be drawn on whether she would seek a second term following the 2024 European elections.
Speaking in Strasbourg, in her last State of the Union speech before next June’s elections, she made a sales pitch – though not explicit – for four more years while making few new policy commitments.
In a nod to the upcoming election campaign, von der Leyen focused heavily on intra-European issues, including the Green Deal and the European economy, leaving Russia’s war in Ukraine, the future expansion of the EU, and possible treaty change to the end.
Von der Leyen claimed her team had delivered over 90% of the proposals presented when she became Commission chief in 2019.
“When I stood in front of you in 2019 with my programme for a green, digital and geopolitical Europe, I know that some had doubts,” she told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg.
“But look at where Europe is today. We have seen the birth of a geopolitical Union – supporting Ukraine, standing up to Russia’s aggression, responding to an assertive China and investing in partnerships,” she said.
“We now have a European Green Deal as the centrepiece of our economy and unmatched in ambition.”
The Green Deal, which was driven by Dutch Commissioner Frans Timmermans who has since left the EU to return to Dutch politics, is arguably the von der Leyen Commission’s most significant legacy.
More than 30 legislative files aimed at cutting carbon emissions and increasing renewable energy supply as part of an EU push towards ‘Net Zero’ have been adopted since 2019.
But for the major part of her speech, von der Leyen focused on billing herself as a defender of European citizens and business.
Whatever it takes…
“Europe will do whatever it takes to keep its competitive edge,” she told EU lawmakers, saying she would defend European business against any unfair competition.
“So I can announce today that the Commission is launching an anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles coming from China. Europe is open to competition. Not for a race to the bottom,” she said.
Von der Leyen argued that her Commission’s response to the COVID pandemic had seen the EU avoid predictions of a “new wave of 1930-style mass unemployment”, adding that the Support to Mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) programme – the first-ever European short-time work initiative – had saved 40 million jobs.
But she admitted that inflation would remain high in the coming months.
The Commission chief also took heed of warnings from the European business community and centre-right and liberal parties to reduce the administrative burden facing firms, promising that next month she would introduce legislative proposals towards reducing reporting obligations at the European level by 25%.
In a likely nod to demands from the right-wing pro-business camp, she said she would appoint former European Central Bank President and Italian premier, Mario Draghi as an envoy to help small and medium-sized enterprises handle red tape to make it easier to do business.
Manfred Weber, the leader of the centre-right EPP, of which von der Leyen is a member, and a potential rival for the top Commission job, pointed to the success of what he described as “the von der Leyen majority”, a hint that he may be ready to put aside his own ambitions for the Commission presidency.
Ukraine, enlargement, migration… last but not least?
Meanwhile, the Commission chief relegated the external dimension of EU policy to the second part of her speech.
While many observers expected her to go strong on Europe’s response to Russia’s war in Ukraine, von der Leyen’s speech included little on the achievements the bloc has made over the past one and a half years.
However, von der Leyen invoked ‘Europe answering the call of history’ as she made the case for an enlarged EU.
“In a world where some are trying to pick off countries one by one, we cannot afford to leave our fellow Europeans behind,” von der Leyen told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg.
“In a world where size and weight matters, it is clearly in Europe’s strategic and security interests to complete our Union,” she said.
But after the debate of the past months, those who have been looking for her to provide more details on the EU’s plans to expand to eastern Europe and the Western Balkans were disappointed.
Elsewhere, there were lukewarm references to reforms to the EU treaties “if and when” needed, language which will disappoint MEPs.
Migration policy was also not prominent in von der Leyen’s speech.
Von der Leyen said that she had sought “practical solutions” on migration after years of deadlock and urged lawmakers to get the migration package of legislation finalised in the coming months.
She added that the EU’s recently agreed ‘cash for migrant control’ partnership with Tunisia will bring “mutual benefits” adding that “we want to work on similar agreements with other countries”.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
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Von der Leyen to boast of achievements but stay mum on second termEU 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.
Source: euractiv.com
