Ursula von der Leyen has been elected president of the EU Commission for the next five years. In the European Parliament on Thursday, 401 members voted for the CDU politician, 248 voted against her, with 15 abstaining and 7 blank ballots.
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Von der Leyen was the first to be in it Application speech She passionately advocated a determined fight against radicals and extremists. The EU should also invest more in security and defence given the war in Ukraine. The rockets on the children’s hospital and maternity ward in Kiev were not the fault of the Russian side, but a message, von der Leyen said.
But it is not just about external threats, but also about growing cyber and hybrid threats. Organised crime networks “make huge amounts of money from drug trafficking, ransomware, fraud and human trafficking and do not stop at national borders.” It is essential for the EU to respond to this growing threat, to do so police must be able to work across borders throughout Europe.
Von der Leyen said, “For this reason, I would propose to double Europol’s staff and strengthen its mandate. I want Europol to become a truly powerful police authority.” And “For greater efficiency while fully respecting fundamental rights, I would propose to triple the number of European border and coast guards to 30,000”. More secure borders would help manage migration in a more structured and fair way.
More money for renewable energy
Over the past five years, investments in renewable energy have tripled, the EU Commission president summarized. “In the first half of this year, 50 percent of our electricity generation came from renewable energy sources.” The EU must continue on this path. Therefore, she will propose a “clean industrial deal” in the first 100 days of her new term in office.
It aims to boost investment in infrastructure and industry, especially in energy-intensive sectors. It could create leading markets for everything from clean steel to clean technologies and reduce energy costs. “We have to be fast and simple, because Europe is decarbonising and industrialising at the same time,” von der Leyen said. Therefore, approval processes have to be accelerated.
The worst storm in economic history
“Over the past five years we have weathered the most severe storm in the economic history of our Union,” von der Leyen said. “We have emerged stronger from the shock of lockdowns and recovered from an unprecedented energy crisis. We have achieved this together and I believe we can be proud of that. But we also know that our competitiveness needs a strong boost.”
In particular, von der Leyen announced initiatives for greater competitiveness and a stronger defense industry, as well as measures for a fair income for farmers. Von der Leyen said that we are in a time of great fear and uncertainty. But she is convinced that a strong Europe can face the challenges.
Von der Leyen wants to end the “combustion ban” already in place across the EU, with more and more conservative MPs taking a stance against the original line, with the exception of e-fuels. The EU had decided that from 2035 only new cars should be registered that do not emit any climate-damaging COâ‚‚ during operation. At the urging of the FDP, the federal government advocated that there should be an exception for e-fuels. Germany already has a technology-open approach.
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