German conservative Ursula von der Leyen has vowed to fight the “existential” threat of climate change while expanding economic growth as she sought European Union politicians’ final approval to become the bloc’s next head.
In a vote today the European Parliament is expected to approve a new executive European Commission under Ms von der Leyen after months of delays and disagreements.
UPDATE: Ms von der Leyen will take office on Sunday after winning a comfortable parliamentary majority, 461 to 157, to allow her 27-strong commission to get to work on December 1 on her plan to make the EU a green superpower.
“We don’t have a moment to waste any more on fighting climate change,” Ms von der Leyen told the assembly in a speech delivered in English, French and German. “It will need massive investment.”
Reuters Newsagency reports she said green initiatives would have to be “inclusive”, a gesture to member states such as Poland that still rely on coal for jobs, energy and growth.
She said any new EU trade deals would include clauses protecting the environment.
The European Investment Bank (EIB)‚ would become the EU’s climate transition bank, a move she said would unlock €1 trillion of investment over a decade.
Ms von der Leyen would be the first woman to hold the EU’s top job.
The 61-year-old former German defence minister needs a simple majority among lpoliticians in the 751-member chamber for her team to start work on December 1.
If, as expected, she gets through, she will face a full in-tray including economic reform and migration as well as climate change.
Reuters reports in the speech, she called for flexibility to be allowed under EU rules to help economies grow, and promised to keep up pressure on upholding democratic standards.
Ms von der Leyen, a close ally of Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, said the EU’s door remained open for Western Balkan countries hoping for membership.
On Brexit, she said she would always be a staunch “Remainer” at heart.
Her 27-strong team for the new European Commission includes 13 women, the closest it has come to gender parity.
The EC proposes laws for the EU on everything from budgets to energy, negotiates trade deals around the world on behalf of the EU’s 500 million citizens and acts as the bloc’s competition watchdog, approving company mergers and setting rules for global tech giants such as Facebook and Google.
Building consensus among fractious member states on the politically sensitive issue of the EU’s next long-term budget from 2021 will be another major challenge for Ms von der Leyen.
Reuters reports the new executive had been due to take office on November 1 but the politically fragmented European Parliament rejected three of the nominees, forcing a delay.
The executive normally comprises one commissioner from each EU state, though Britain, which is due to exit the bloc, has declined to name a representative.
Failure to win today’s vote in Strasbourg would extend the current transitional vacuum in EU policy-making at a time of trade tensions with President Donald Trump’s United States and an increasingly powerful China.
The new executive may face legal challenges next year due to Brexit.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to finally take Britain out of the EU on January 31 if his Conservative Party wins a parliamentary majority in a December 12 election.
As Britain currently remains an EU member after several delays to its departure, it is legally required to have a commissioner in Brussels.
Its refusal to name one could expose the new EC’s decisions to legal risks.
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