The Commission President stressed that it was about winning over political forces for the – quote – “majority in the middle”. Von der Leyen stressed that there is no party discipline in the European Parliament. Rather, majorities must be sought and formed again and again. That is why it makes sense to look at the individual members of parliament.
Von der Leyen is running in the European elections as the lead candidate of the European People’s Party for a second term as Commission President. The CDU politician stressed that the election was a “vote of direction”. It was about developing Europe further – or dividing and disintegrating it.
Accusation of rapprochement with Italy’s post-fascists
The Commission President is being criticized because she has not ruled out cooperation with the right-wing conservative ECR group in the European Parliament. Social Democrats, leftists and Greens have accused her of moving closer to the post-fascists in Italy. Prime Minister Meloni’s “Fratelli d’Italia” party is part of the ECR group. Von der Leyen recently described Meloni as “clearly pro-European”.
Demand for fair trade from China
On Deutschlandfunk, von der Leyen again criticized China’s trade practices. There is weak demand in China, but the state is still massively subsidizing the production of electric cars. This is why there is overcapacity. The USA has sealed off its market, so the EU must be careful that not everything ends up on the European market.
The Commission President recalled the Chinese solar industry, which was massively subsidized by the state and took over the market with cheap products. Von der Leyen called for fair trade.
Investigation into protective tariffs
She explained that the Commission had launched an investigation into the issue of protective tariffs on electric cars from China, as required by the rules of the World Trade Organization. However, the results are not yet available. The first step would be to talk to the Chinese government. Von der Leyen rejected the accusation that a trade war with China was being headed for.
This message was broadcast on 25 May 2024 on the Deutschlandfunk program.