analysis
In her State of the Union speech, EU Commission chief von der Leyen said not a word about whether she would seek a second term in office. And yet she gave many hints about how she wants to continue to shape the EU.
This time too, Ursula von der Leyen did not openly comment on her personal future plans. Whether she is available for a second term as President of the EU Commission remains unsaid. The silence is not a surprise. Von der Leyen does not want to start the election campaign nine months before the European elections. And yet after her appearance in the plenary hall of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the impression is unavoidable: her speech on the state of the European Union contained clear traces of self-promotion.
One hour of assessment and outlook
Before we started in the morning there was a lot of smiling. Ursula von der Leyen shook countless hands and was available for selfies. Kisses on the left, kisses on the right. Then she takes to the lectern for a good hour of assessment and outlook. How does she see the state of the European Union?
Without a doubt, von der Leyen’s EU Commission was confronted with major crises, the extent of which could not have been foreseen at the beginning of her term in office in 2019: the corona pandemic and the Russian attack on Ukraine with all the consequences that this turning point also had for the EU.
The German is – unsurprisingly – completely satisfied with what has been achieved: the EU stands united at Ukraine’s side for as long as it is necessary. Putin used energy as a weapon, but Europe still got through the winter warm.
Apart from that, the so-called Green Deal, the plan to fight climate change, is making progress – the project that von der Leyen initially dubbed “Europe’s man on the moon moment”. There has finally been movement in the EU asylum policy.
Important topics: AI, wind power, Africa
But it shouldn’t just look back. What does she still have planned until the end of her term in office approaches next year? The President of the Commission received the first audible applause when she announced that the state subsidies for Chinese electric cars would be investigated: “The price of these cars is artificially depressed by huge state subsidies – this distorts our market.”
Deutsche also wants to work to set up an international expert committee on artificial intelligence – modeled on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Former ECB boss Mario Draghi is to prepare a report on the opportunities and risks of the EU economy. A wind power package, an Africa strategy. Women should be better protected from violence by enshrining the principle “no means no” in law. The list is long. Von der Leyen’s conclusion about the work of the commission she heads is consistently positive.
Party friend criticizes “cloudy announcements”
Not everyone in the Strasbourg circle shares this. Katharina Barley, SPD MP and parliamentary vice-president, sees “very little concrete for the citizens in these difficult times.” The conclusion of CSU man Markus Ferber, a party friend: “cloudy announcements, recycling of well-known suggestions and little new.”
What does the speech reveal about von der Leyen’s personal plans? Daniel Freund from the Greens says there is “something for everyone” – especially in his own party. “It is foreseeable that the President of the Commission has laid the first foundations for her re-election campaign here.”
No word on a second candidacy
And of course the question arises: Why shouldn’t von der Leyen want to continue? Why stop now? Ultimately – in her words – it is once again the moment for Europe to follow “the call of history”. At the WDR European Forum In June, the Commission President announced that she would comment “in the second half of the year”.
Until then, says political scientist Andreas Maurer from the University of Innsbruck, von der Leyen will examine her chances of success very carefully: “Where are her supporters, and does she have these supporters in her bag? If that’s not the case, then we will reject her candidacy Don’t hear anything until next year.”
The incumbent president needs the support of both the European Parliament and the member states. It is still unclear what significance the top candidate principle will have in next year’s election – the regulation stipulates that the Commission presidency can only be given to those who run as the top candidate. Von der Leyen came into office in 2019 because the member states had broken the principle. Today in her speech she said nothing on this topic.