EU business is gradually waking up from its summer slumber this week. As usual, the foreign ministers will kick things off, with Annalena Baerbock and her colleagues meeting for an informal Council in Brussels on Thursday. As is well known, Foreign Affairs Commissioner Josep Borrell had postponed the Gymnich meeting, which was originally planned for […]
A month ago, Ursula von der Leyen asked the member states to propose one female and one male candidate for the new EU Commission. So far, hardly any government has complied with her request. Shortly before the deadline at the end of August, it is becoming clear that von der Leyen will not be able […]
It’s only a few sentences, but they were enough to set the world of competition watchdogs on edge: “I believe that we need a new approach to competition policy“, writes Ursula von der Leyen in her political guidelines for her second term of office. This must be “better aligned with our common goals” and provide […]
Wopke Hoekstra has been nominated by the Dutch government for a new term as EU Commissioner. Prime Minister Dick Schoof confirmed corresponding media reports and described Hoekstra as a “strong candidate for a solid portfolio“.Hoekstra was previously responsible for climate policy in the Commission. A year ago, he replaced Frans Timmermans, who returned to Dutch […]
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann is the new Chair of the Defense Committee in the European Parliament. MEPs elected the FDP politician by acclamation on Tuesday; there were no opposing candidates. She wanted to “continue [her] commitment to a resilient Europe in her new role together with [her] colleagues”, wrote the former Chair of the Defense Committee in […]
Ursula von der Leyen is a political professional, as she proved once again on Thursday. The old and new Commission President has spent weeks wooing the MEPs, who have now given her a comfortable majority. She has managed to bring together all the concerns, wishes and sensitivities into a mosaic. Unlike in 2019, she relied […]
Ursula von der Leyen wants to advocate the admission of new EU members in her second term of office. However, the Commission President once again remained vague on how quickly this should happen and which reforms in the EU structure should be associated with enlargement.The admission of the Western Balkan states, Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia […]
In her first candidacy speech in 2019, Ursula von der Leyen only touched on economic policy in passing, but yesterday was a different story: “Our top priorities are prosperity and competitiveness”, she told the European Parliament. The need for this arises from geopolitical tensions – otherwise, there is a risk of dependence on unfriendly actors.Many […]
In Strasbourg today, the European Parliament is voting on the new Commission President, while in Milwaukee the Republicans are choosing the candidate for the US presidential election at their convention. Ever since Donald Trump chose Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate, it has been clear that a second Trump term would be uncomfortable for […]
The Ursula von der Leyen coalition is in place. The heads of the EPP, Social Democrat and Liberal groups have agreed on the political content, personnel policy aspects, and the structure and upgrading of committees. The substantive demands of the three groups are to be reflected in the guidelines that Ursula von der Leyen will […]