In Strasbourg, the European Parliament approved, on Wednesday, November 27, by a large majority, the composition of the new European Commission, headed by Ursula von der Leyen.
Encouraged by the favorable vote of 370 deputies (282 against and 36 abstentions), the Commission will take office on 1Ahem December and you will have to deal with Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the war in Ukraine, trade tensions with China and climate change.
Europe does not have “There is no time to waste” warned the president of the Commission, making competitiveness a priority for “to complete” the gap with the United States and China. “Our freedom and our sovereignty depend more than ever on our economic power”he insisted.
On defense, Ursula von der Leyen later insisted on the need to do more to compete with Russian military spending, at a time when the return of Donald Trump raises fears of a US withdrawal in Ukraine.
“Our expenses must increase”said the 66-year-old German. “Russia spends up to 9% of its GDP on defense. Europe spends an average of 1.9%. There is something wrong with this equation.”.
Trump’s return, a challenge
Preparing for Trump’s return is “the most urgent challenge” for the European Union, underlines Luigi Scazzieri, analyst at the Center for European Reform. Sure “two fronts” : trade, with the Republican president-elect promising to increase customs duties on European products, and “security”with the war in Ukraine.
Despite these challenges, the European Parliament will have had difficulties before approving the composition of the new Commission. The groups clashed over the vice presidency awarded to the Italian Raffaele Fitto (territorial cohesion), a member of Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Fratelli d’Italia party, while the left demanded the maintenance of a “sanitary cordon”. Ursula von der Leyen assumed this vice presidency, which allows her to maintain her relations with Mrs.me Meloni. “It’s a choice I made.”stood out before the MEPs.
new faces
After several days of confrontation, the EPP (right), the centrists of Renew and the Social Democrats ended up sealing an agreement to approve all the proposed commissioners, the first in twenty years.
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Among the new faces: former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas becomes the new head of EU diplomacy; French centrist Stéphane Séjourné wins a vice presidency with a broad industrial strategy portfolio; The Spanish socialist Teresa Ribera will be vice president of Ecological Transition and Competitiveness.
This new Commission leans towards the right, with around fifteen portfolios, out of twenty-seven, assigned to the EPP, the main political force in Parliament. Its leader, Manfred Weber, did not hide his satisfaction. It’s a commission “very balanced”he estimated, mentioning a possible parliamentary majority ranging from the ECR (far right), where Giorgia Meloni’s Italian MEPs sit, to some Greens.
Incidentally, the German official once again downplayed accusations from the left about his ambiguities with the extreme right. “There are red lines” and it is not possible to cooperate with those who are not “pro-Europe, pro-Ukraine and pro-rule of law”he reaffirmed, distinguishing between Giorgia Meloni’s troops and the other two far-right groups.
At the head of the social democrats, the Spanish Iratxe García Pérez highlighted the “Need for stability” in Europe to explain his support for the new team. But this is not “not a blank check”he stated, warning the EPP. “We will not accept double treatment” with the extreme right.
The granting of a vice presidency to Raffaele Fitto divided his group. The French socialists voted against the new Commission. “We are crossing a red line. “We should have a combat commission, capable of defending the general European interest, and I do not believe that Fratelli d’Italia is in this line.”denounced Raphaël Glucksmann (Place publishes).
Among the Patriots, on the far right, Jordan Bardella flatly rejected the new team, “Commissioners unknown to the general public who dictate the daily lives of 450 million citizens”he lashed out.
