(Bloomberg) — Ursula von der Leyen of Germany made a final pitch to become European Commission president, telling the EU Parliament she would pursue bolder policies to protect the climate and improve social justice.
The Christian Democratic nominee directed her appeal to left-of-center members of the European Union’s legislature in Strasbourg, France, where she needs to secure an absolute majority in a secret ballot at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. With 747 of the assembly’s 751 seats currently filled, the threshold for victory is 374 votes.
“Our most pressing challenge is keeping our planet healthy,” von der Leyen, 60, said during a speech in which she switched between English, German and French. “This is the greatest responsibility and opportunity of our times. I want Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent in the world by 2050.”
An ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, von der Leyen would succeed Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg as commission chief in November for a five-year term and become the first woman in the EU’s most powerful policy-making post.
The Brussels-based commission is the 28-nation bloc’s executive arm, which proposes and enforces European laws on everything from car emissions to energy pipelines. It also monitors national economies, negotiates trade deals, runs a diplomatic service, manages the bloc’s budget and acts as Europe’s competition authority.
Calling for “bold steps” on climate protection, von der Leyen said the EU’s goal to cut the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming by 40% in 2030 compared with 1990 levels was inadequate.
Von der Leyen said she would propose a law during her first 100 days in office that would deepen the 2030 emissions-cut target to 50% or even 55% and set a goal to zero out greenhouse gases by 2050. To help finance the transition, she wants to create a sustainable investment plan for Europe and turn parts of the European Investment Bank into a climate bank.
“This will unlock 1 trillion euros ($1.1 trillion) of investment in the next decade,” von der Leyen said. “It means change. All of us and every sector will have to contribute — from aviation to maritime transport to the way each and every one of us travels and lives. Emissions must have a price that changes our behavior.”
Carbon Tax
To protect the competitiveness of EU companies and prevent their relocation to regions with laxer climate policies, she wants to implement a carbon tax on imported goods. Such a proposal — already pursued by France and its allies a decade ago — has so far proven unattainable given it requires unanimous backing from the member states.
Her climate ideas failed to sway the Green party, which previously said it wouldn’t support her bid. “Your language was perhaps strong, but your proposals remain very vague,” Philippe Lamberts, Belgian co-leader of the Green faction in the EU Parliament, said in remarks to the assembly.
Von der Leyen, Germany’s defense minister, was unexpectedly tapped on July 2 by EU national leaders for the commission presidency after they were deadlocked for weeks over official candidates fielded by Europe’s main political parties.
The EU Parliament, where the Christian Democrats are the biggest group with 24% of the seats, had called on the government chiefs to avoid a traditional backroom deal on the nomination and to select one of the formal contenders.
The Socialists, the No. 2 faction with a fifth of the assembly’s seats, were stung that their candidate — Dutchman Frans Timmermans — was sidelined even after he gained the late support of Merkel herself. Timmermans, currently the commission’s principal vice president, ran into firm opposition from other Christian Democratic party bosses, leaders in eastern Europe and the Italian prime minister.
“We think you are moving in the right direction,” Iratxe Garcia, head of the Socialist group in the EU Parliament, said after von der Leyen’s speech. “There are advances.”
Von der Leyen has spent the past two weeks seeking to woo various political factions in the EU Parliament, offering policy commitments in the process.
With the support of the 182-strong Christian Democrats and 108-member Liberals, she has focused her efforts on the Socialists, who number 153 and have been split. On Monday, von der Leyen sent the group written pledges to undertake more ambitious action on everything from climate change to social rights.
“The fight for fairness never stops,” she said in her speech. “I want better protection for those who lose their job when our economy takes a severe hit.”
(Updates with comments starting in the third paragraph.)
–With assistance from Nikos Chrysoloras, Viktoria Dendrinou and Ewa Krukowska.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Strasbourg, France at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ben Sills at [email protected]
For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.