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The European Parliament decided on Thursday to grant Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen a new five-year term as European Commission president, with 401 votes in favor, 284 against and 15 abstentions, representing a clear majority compared to the vote during his first term.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission Photo: Facebook/Ursula von de Leyen
Now that von der Leyen has retained his post for five years, he will build his team.
Known as “The Academy, a 27-member panel that includes one commissioner from each EU country and one commissioner nominated by each member state, wrote news.ro.
The last European Commission included former lawmakers, diplomats, ministers and company directors.
Member states are expected to propose candidates in early August, although some have already rushed to put forward their names.
Ursula von der Leyen, the first female head of the European Commission, insisted during her last term that countries nominate one man and one woman to improve the gender balance at the top of the bloc. Such a requirement is expected now.
Once the list is published, the EU will begin a process that could take months, checking the candidates for conflicts of interest before MEPs ask them about their plans for the role in hours-long hearings.
Once this process is complete, the new European Commission should become operational in October. Only then can it start proposing new laws and amending existing ones.
Von der Leyen reveals his plans He will be given a second term in office ahead of a vote in the European Parliament on Thursday morning. His most important promises include plans to roll out EU defense projects, starting with a European air defense shield, a pledge not to weaken European climate change policy and more help for European industry struggling to compete with the United States and China, while investing in reducing carbon emissions.
The next European Commission will propose a new competitiveness fund in the next EU budget to invest in cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Von der Leyen also outlined changes to immigration policy, including a new approach to returning migrants and plans to triple the number of European border and coast guards.
The European Commission develops and proposes new EU policies and laws. It is the only EU institution that can do this. The European Commission also proposes the EU budget, a huge source of funding that was last approved in 2020 and allocated €1.2 trillion for 2021-2027, plus other funds to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those roles give the Commission considerable influence over the rules affecting the 27-nation EU and its 450 million citizens – in areas such as trade, competition between companies in the EU single market, agriculture and the environment.
As Commission president, von der Leyen sets the issues the Commission will prioritize with the agreement of EU governments and will receive billions of euros from EU funds.
At the start of her first term in 2019, she made tackling climate change her top priority. Since then, the EU has adopted the most ambitious package of policies to cut emissions. All major economies of the world.
Von der Leyen also led the EU’s response to emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the Commission signed billions of euros worth of vaccine contracts. Some MEPs have harshly criticized the management of these contracts and sued the Commission for refusing to disclose more information about them.
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