In a debate with Members of the European Parliament (MEP), ahead of the vote on her nomination, Ursula von der Leyen, the first woman who will lead the European Commission, outlined her vision for the next five years, based on the following main priorities:
- A European Green Deal;
- An economy that works for people;
- A Europe fit for the digital age;
- Protecting our European way of life;
- A stronger Europe in the world; and
- A new push for the European
These political guidelines constitute, to large extent, a continuation to the current ten political priorities of President Juncker. They have drown on the discussions that Ursula von der Leyen hold with the political groups in the European Parliament, and inspired by the European Council’s Strategic Agenda for 2019-2024.
Due to the need to secure the vote of MEP beyond the European People Party, Ms von der Leyen has reinforced the environmental and the social dimensions of her political agenda. This includes a set of flagship initiatives, such as the first European Climate Law to enshrine the 2050 climate-neutrality target into law, a Strategy for green financing and a Sustainable Europe Investment Plan, among others. In the social domain, it would be worth mentioning an Action Plan to fully implement the European Pilar of Social Rights, a European Unemployment Benefit Reinsurance Scheme and the transformation of the Youth
Guarantee into a permanent instrument too fight youth unemployment. Moreover, digital technologies will continue to be a political priority with a forthcoming legislation on the human and ethical implications of Artificial Intelligence, a new Digital Services Act upgrading the liability and safety rules for digital platforms, services and products, and a revision of the Digital Education Action Plan aiming to speed on digital skills for both young people and adults.
Not surprisingly, the protection of the European way of life, based on the European values, will be on the top of the political agenda. The President elect supports an additional comprehensive European Rule of Law Mechanism. The Commission’s monitoring will be done in close dialogue with national authorities. In this rule-of-law mechanism a greater role for the European Parliament will be also assigned. Other important initiatives under this heading are a New Pact on Migration and Asylum, including the relaunch of the Dublin reform of asylum rules, a reinforcement of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency and a strengthening of the Customs Union.
Ursula von der Leyen wishes Europe to be more ambitious, strategic and assertive on the international arena. She views that the Union can strengthen its role as a global leader and standard setter through a strong, open and fair trade agenda. She also sees the need to deepen EU relations with neighbours’ and partners’ countries, in particular through a closer partnership with Africa. In addition, she has reaffirmed the European perspective of the Western Balkans and highlighted the importance of the continued reform possess across the region. In the current geopolitical context, building a genuine European Defence Union will be another key priority for the years to come.
The Conference on the Future of Europe that will start in 2020 and run for two years, will bring together citizens, civil society and European institutions as equal partners to discuss the further development of our Union and the way in which it should tackle internal and external challenges an threats, including the convenience of changing the current EU treaties.
The political guidelines of the President elect will largely shape the structure of the next College of Commissioners, in particular the responsibilities of the Vice-Presidents and the portfolios of the Commissioners.
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