The European Parliament voted today for Ursula von der Leyen for a new mandate as President of the European Commission. The head of the community executive obtained a clear majority, 401 votes, against the minimum 360 required, in a meeting that was marked by the scandal caused by Diana Șoșoacă, the Romanian MEP being evicted from the hall.
Ursula von der Leyen won a new mandate at the head of the European Commission. 401 deputies voted in her favor, 284 – against, 15 abstained, and 7 votes were annulled, according to the counting of the ballots. The required majority was 360 votes. The European Parliament sent a clarification, showing that a Spanish MEP (Antoni Comin I Oliveres, non-affiliated) was not yet able to take up his mandate, so the European Parliament is composed of 719 members, which means that the absolute majority is 360 deputies.
Ursula’s pledges
Ursula von der Leyen promised on Thursday, in the plenary session of the European Parliament, to take measures to strengthen Europe, a Europe that must be able to rise to the height of the current challenges, in case she gets a new mandate at the head of the European Commission.
“Europe cannot control dictators and demagogues all over the world, but it can choose to protect its democracy. Europe cannot stop change, but it can choose to embrace change and invest in measures to improve the living conditions of European citizens”, Von der Leyen said in the debate that precedes the submission of his candidacy to the vote in the European Parliament.
The 65-year-old German politician emphasized that she will not accept that “demagogues and extremists destroy our European way of life”. In her speech, she promised to launch European Union defense projects, including a European air shield. “We will propose a series of defense projects of common European interest, starting with a European air shield and cyber defense,” said Ursula von der Leyen.
Regarding the ongoing conflict Ukraine-Russia, the EC Head stated: “Russia is on the offensive in eastern Ukrainians and wants the next winter to be even harsher. She bets that the West and the EU will weaken. Some time ago, an EU prime minister went to Moscow on a so-called peace mission, but it was actually just a mission to please Russia. After only two days, Putin’s military planes targeted a maternity hospital and a children’s hospital in Kiev. This was not a mistake, but a clear message. Our answer must be equally clear: the EU will stand by Ukraine as long as it takes. Ukraine must be given everything it needs to win, which means we must now make important elections and we must do everything we can to protect European citizens. The time has come to build a real European Defense Union”.
Another commitment of Ursula von der Leyen concerns climate policies. She promised that the new Commission will not give up on green policies, so that the price of energy will fall, and the EU will no longer be vulnerable through dependence on fossil fuel imports.
Also, the head of the EU executive announced a review of border management and a strengthening of the powers of the Frontex and Europol agencies, and stated that a new approach to the return of migrants would be adopted.
Thus, Ursula von der Leyen announced that she will propose tripling the number of European border policemen, up to 30,000. “We will show no tolerance towards those who threaten, with hybrid attacks, the security of our borders and our citizens”, stressed Ursula von der Leyen. She said that in the new European Commission a post of European Commissioner for the Mediterranean will be created.
On the other hand, Ursula von der Leyen announced the creation of a European fund for competitiveness, which will contribute to the stimulation of competitiveness and innovation, the development of production and the creation of new technologies in Europe.
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