Ursula von der Leyen ’embraces’ Teresa Ribera. The president of the European Commission gave all her confidence to the Spanish in his speech before the vote in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, and said that “she is prepared” to be vice president and commissioner of Just Transition and Competition for the next five years. “She is truly and faithfully pro-European,” He added, under the charge that in his first 100 days in office he develops a plan for a clean industry. This message comes after a long week of vetoes, blockades and doubts about its future, with the Spanish PP positioned against it in a very emphatic way.
The president of the Community Executive presented her team for the next five years, but not before thanking the work of the outgoing Commission, which has had a really difficult five years for the EU. Now begins an equally or more demanding era, and Von der Leyen recalled the historical fight “for freedom” in countries such as Hungary, Poland, Romania or the Czech Republic and he spoke about leaders like Lech Walesa: it was the beginning of a message to vindicate the importance of the Union and that these struggles between equals are not repeated. “These stories remember the fight for freedom and democracy, because these stories unite us as Europeans. This is for me the reason for our Union.”
These are the pillars of the new European Union that Germany wants to build in the coming years: competitive, safe and clean, under the idea of ​​greater autonomy on the global stage both at the level of Defense and energy. “European sovereignty is not for sale,” said Von der Leyen, who wants a “protagonist” Europe in different areas, from Ukraine to the Middle East. We are, he noted, “in a world in which Europe is more necessary than ever.” At that point the key role will be that of the new High Representative, Kaja Kallas, dressed in the colors of the Ukrainian flag as a fundamental message of what her work will be. “His figure is also more necessary than ever,” stated the president of the Commission.
For all this Money is needed and this is assumed by a Von der Leyen who recognizes the complexities of the EU budget. The Budget Commissioner, the Polish Piotr Serafin, will be established there, who aspires to become a decisive figure in the new College of Commissioners. An idea that will swarm around Brussels will be that of investments and savings, hand in hand with a plan that will be developed by the Portuguese Maria Luisa Alburquerque. All this requires “less bureaucracy” and more facilities for companies: a task is in the hands of Vladis Dombroskis, one of the most veteran of the European Commission, who will have to work with the person in charge of cohesion and reforms, the Italian Raffaele Fitto (perhaps the most controversial figure along with Ribera in view of what happened with the hearings).
Von der Leyen has a lot of work ahead of her, surrounded by a team designed so that no one overshadows her and with a Commission that plans to work much closer to the Member States than from the European Parliament: there are many doubts, because its margin is narrow in the European Parliament, but its speech does not change. The German wants to change Europe, but it is neither easy nor can she do it alone. Time is short; A new era begins for the EU.