New EU commission gets approval as priorities listed

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen rolled out the priorities for the next five years after her college of commissioners won approval in a vote at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

With 370 votes in favor, 282 against and 36 abstentions out of the total 688 votes cast, von der Leyen is expected to start her second term on Dec 1 with the new commission, regarded as the most right wing in decades.

Of the 27 commissioners, including von der Leyen herself, almost half are from the center-right, one is an ultraconservative and one is from the far right. In comparison, only 12 commissioners of the outgoing team were right-wing politicians.

In her speech on Wednesday, von der Leyen said the three pillars for the next five years will focus on closing the innovation gap with the US and China, a joint plan on decarbonization and increasing security while reducing dependencies.

Von der Leyen also vowed to push forward the European Green Deal, which was launched during her first term but was seen by many as losing momentum following protests over regulations in sectors from farming to automobiles.

Von der Leyen said she would convene a strategic dialogue on the future of the car industry, clearly referring to the tough challenges facing the German car industry and competition from Chinese electric vehicles. China and the EU are holding talks to find a solution following the EU's imposition of countervailing duties on Chinese EVs.

Von der Leyen pledged to reinforce economic security, including critical raw materials and the defense industry.

"Our defense spending must increase. … We need to improve our military mobility. And we need common European projects on defense," she said, while introducing Andrius Kubilius, former Lithuania prime minister who is now the first European Commissioner for Defense.

Iratxe Garcia Perez, the leader of the Socialists and Democrats, the second-largest party in the European Parliament, said the group's yes to the new college of commissioners "is a responsible and constructive yes, a yes for the stability of the European Union. A year for our citizens".

'Not a blank check'

She said the group has asked von der Leyen and European People's Party, or EPP, President Manfred Weber to "abandon their whitewashing of the far right and reaffirm their commitment to the pro-European majority".

"Our support is not a blank check. We will not accept double-dealing," she said on Wednesday.

Jordan Bardella, leader of the Patriots for Europe, the newly formed third-largest party group in the European Parliament, expressed the party's disapproval of the new commission by saying that after five years of failures and scandals, von der Leyen offers continuity.

"A path that will lead Europe straight toward decommissioning," said the 29-year-old president of the French party of National Rally, adding that the Patriots group would therefore unanimously vote against the new commission.

"No doubt: it's a massive EPP's win! Is it for Europeans? I seriously doubt as by cobbling together a thin and inconsistent majority incapable of permanently supporting the new Commission over the next five years might soon reveal a recipe for disaster," said Alberto Alemanno, professor of EU Law at HEC Paris, a business school, in response to Manfred Weber in praise of the new commission.

chenweihua@chinadaily.com.cn