The new European Commission will be the “competitiveness” Commission, which will carry forward the Green Deal but smooth out its edges to meet the needs of the market and businesses. And it will be a Commission that will “work at the centre”, excluding extremists. This is the heart of the programmatic speech delivered by President Ursula von der Leyen at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, where she will receive the confidence of her new team.
Green Deal, competitiveness and defense: the von der Leyen plan for Europe
A trust that could have numbers even higher than those that von der Leyen received for his personal investiture in July, when he obtained 401 votes. Despite the controversies and rifts, the German People’s Party ultimately managed to mend relations with the main political forces that had supported her in the summer (or at least with part of them): People’s Party, Socialists, Liberals and Greens who, although with several internal defections, will support it rather compactly. Just as part of the conservatives will support it, primarily Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia.
“As I did in my first mandate, I will always work from the center. Because we all want the best for Europe and the best for Europeans. So now is the time to unite,” von der Leyen said, pledging to collaborate “with all the pro-European democratic forces present in this Chamber”. And among these it is now clear that the president also includes the party of Meloni and his man in Brussels Fitto.
The latter, who will be vice-president and commissioner for Cohesion, was chosen “because I know how fundamental it is to give the regions the political importance they deserve”, said von der Leyen, adding: “I want the regions and communities to have the control of their own destiny and help shape our policies.”
The Draghi report
In her speech the president did not present new ideas, the heart of her project for Europe is contained in the programmatic manifesto she presented in July. But above all it is contained in the report on competitiveness that was entrusted to Mario Draghi. The first major initiative of the new Commission will be “a compass of competitiveness”, which will be based on the three pillars of the former Italian prime minister’s report.
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”The first is to close the innovation gap with the United States and China. The second is a common plan for decarbonisation and competitiveness. The third is increasing security and reducing dependencies”. On the Green Deal the line is to keep together decarbonisation and defense of the competitiveness of European industry. “We will stay on course towards the Green Deal goals and to succeed in this we need to be more agile and better accompany people and businesses along the way,” he said.
Cars
As for cars, with the sector appearing more in crisis and in difficulty than ever, we need to “design solutions together as this sector goes through a profound and disruptive transition”. “The European automotive industry is a European pride. Millions of jobs depend on it. And together we must ensure that the future of cars continues to be made in Europe,” he said.
The third pillar of the Competitiveness Pact is about strengthening economic security, which means improving supply chains. “Excessive dependencies can quickly turn into vulnerabilities. This is why stable and secure supply chains are so vital. Critical raw materials are the most obvious example. We need partnerships that will gain importance in today’s increasingly dangerous world.”
War and Defense
In the long speech of about 45 minutes there was naturally a reference to the war on the EU’s doorstep and to the future of the bloc’s security. “We must be ready for what lies ahead: working closely with NATO. We know that we must do much more together as Europeans,” he asked. Just as he asked to spend more on armaments. “The figures are known: Russia is spending up to 9 percent of GDP on defense and Europe is spending an average of 1.9 percent: there is something wrong in this equation.”
