This is a new step on the road to a second term. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, received the approval of her political family, meeting in Bucharest, on Thursday March 7. The Congress of the European People’s Party (EPP) – bringing together MEPs, party presidents and no less than twelve heads of state or government of the European Union (EU) – officially endorsed the candidacy of the 65-year-old German.
The European elections, scheduled for June 6 to 9, will lead to the renewal of the leaders of the main EU institutions, including that of the Commission, which must reflect the political balance resulting from the ballot boxes.
After a mandate shaken by turbulence, from the Covid-19 epidemic to the war in Ukraine, Mme von der Leyen wants to remain the face of the EU until 2029. “We have ninety days before the elections”launched the former German defense minister from the podium, thanking the audience for their ” trust “ and its wide ” support ” : 400 votes for, 89 against. The president of the Republicans (LR), Eric Ciotti, announced on Tuesday on Franceinfo having written to the head of the EPP, Manfred Weber, to inform him that the outgoing president “will not benefit[it] no support from LR ». The deputy for Alpes-Maritimes criticizes Mme von der Leyen to embody “a form of technocratic drift which undermines [les] farmers » And “opening borders to migrants”.
The president of the EPP group in Parliament, Mr Weber, had previously welcomed “a strong leader”. With her at the head of the Commission, Europe is “in good hands”. The leading political force in Parliament, the EPP is the favorite in the elections. “Our peaceful and united Europe is challenged like never before. By the populists, the nationalists, the demagogues. Whether it’s the far right or the far left”warned the candidate. “Their goal is the same: to trample on our values and destroy our Europe. And we, the EPP, will never let this happen. »
Muted climate issues
Discordant opinions are still being heard. In the crosshairs, the Green Deal, the main legislative success of the President of the Commission, which has become a scarecrow for the farmers mobilized en masse in recent weeks across Europe.
Faced with this anger and the rise of far-right forces in the polls, Mme von der Leyen has been making a shift for some time now, muting climate issues. The Northern League, the far-right party of Matteo Salvini, Italian deputy prime minister, also castigated the “miserable and sinister” European Commission, whose “crazy policies are destroying Europe”.
Another clear shift, the EPP now advocates a transfer of asylum seekers to third countries, in its manifesto adopted on the first day of the Congress. “It is we, the Europeans, who decide who comes to Europe and under what circumstances, and not the organized networks of smugglers and traffickers”insisted the manager.
The European socialists, who constitute the second group in Parliament in terms of number of seats, launched their offensive this weekend in Rome with the Luxembourger Nicolas Schmit as their headliner, insisting on “the importance” of the poll due to the threat of a wave “illiberal” in the ballot boxes.