segunda-feira, 15 de julho de 2019

Von der Leyen promises the Earth to win EU top job



Twitter de Costa …
Claro que Costa num típico contorcionismo marabalista já veio apoiar Ursula von der Leyen incondicionalmente : “Costa, who had expressed annoyance at the European Council's refusal to nominate his fellow Socialist Frans Timmermans as Commission chief, came out forcefully in support of von der Leyen on Monday, and posted a thread on Twitter urging MEPs to ratify her candidacy.”
OVOODOCORVO



Von der Leyen promises the Earth to win EU top job

Nominee for Commission presidency seeks support from Parliament ahead of crucial vote.

By          DAVID M. HERSZENHORN AND MAÏA DE LA BAUME        7/15/19, 9:08 PM CET Updated 7/16/19, 4:41 AM CET

STRASBOURG — A day before the vote on her nomination to be European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen didn't quite promise members of the European Parliament the moon and the stars. But almost.

She promised "more ambitious" targets on emissions to save the Earth from climate change, to introduce a "carbon border tax" and to "turn parts of the European Investment Bank into a climate bank."

She promised a two-year conference on the future of Europe and full gender equality at the top of the Commission by the end of her five-year mandate.

There were also pledges she could not deliver without the support of EU member states, like the start of accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, "a fresh start" on migration and asylum policies and completion of the EU's banking union, including a European Deposit Insurance Scheme.

Other promises would require rewriting the EU treaties, like giving MEPs the right to launch legislation, or changes to electoral law that many MEPs believe are necessary only because of how von der Leyen herself was nominated — in defiance of the Spitzenkandidat, or lead candidate, system.

Several MEPs said too many of von der Leyen's pledges rang hollow — particularly her commitment to strengthen the lead candidate system.

The key question as Parliament convened for a historic session in Strasbourg was not whether the German defense minister could make good on her promises. It was whether they would win over enough skeptics, especially among liberals and Social Democrats, for her to clinch the absolute majority of 374 votes on Tuesday evening she needs to win the EU's top job.

For Portugal's Socialist Prime Minister António Costa, the answer was yes.

Costa, who had expressed annoyance at the European Council's refusal to nominate his fellow Socialist Frans Timmermans as Commission chief, came out forcefully in support of von der Leyen on Monday, and posted a thread on Twitter urging MEPs to ratify her candidacy.

He said was more than satisfied that her written answers to Iratxe Garcia, the Spanish leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in Parliament, "justify our support for Ursula von der Leyen in the vote tomorrow in the European Parliament.”

Spanish support
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also came out in support of von der Leyen — as expected, given that he secured some of Spain's priorities in the leadership package that included the German's nomination.

That package included nominating Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell as the EU's high representative of foreign affairs, Belgium's liberal Prime Minister Charles Michel to lead the European Council and Christine Lagarde, the French managing director of the International Monetary Fund, as the next president of the European Central Bank.

But despite vocal support from Sánchez and Costa, the S&D group did not take a decision to back von der Leyen on Monday. Its MEPs are set to make more demands in Tuesday's debate, said one S&D official, adding that the German, French, Austrian and Dutch delegations were all likely to vote against her.

Several MEPs said too many of von der Leyen's pledges rang hollow — particularly her commitment to strengthen the lead candidate system.

Many MEPs complained that her presentations in Parliament last week were too broad and that she did not have a firm grasp of policy. On Monday, several said her letters to political groups seemed to "cut and paste" from Parliament's own efforts to develop a common policy agenda.

"In the rule of law issue, she is vague, to say it politely," said Jens Geier, head of the German Social Democrats in the Parliament. "Yes, we all rely on the rule of law, but I would have expected that a candidate for the Commission says: ‘We will not allow that some states go on with dismantling the rule of law.'”

The German MEP also complained that she lacked ambition on climate change and was vague on how much her initiatives would cost. “It’s totally open how it would be financed," said Geier, who plans to vote against her on Tuesday.

Germany's Social Democrats, coalition partners of von der Leyen's Christian Democrats in the government in Berlin, are among her most most vocal critics and attacked the Council for ditching the Spitzenkandidat system. Much may hinge on whether center-left MEPs from other countries take the same stance.

Resignation declaration
In an effort to show her commitment to the Brussels job, von der Leyen on Monday announced that she would resign as defense minister on Tuesday "to serve Europe with all my strength" — whatever the outcome.

Addressing a highly sensitive personnel question, von der Leyen signaled to MEPs from her European People's Party (EPP) that she would remove Martin Selmayr, the powerful secretary-general of the Commission, if she wins the job.

Selmayr is current Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's closest aide, having previously served as his chief of staff. But the German's promotion last year angered many of his critics in Parliament, which called on him to resign.

Asked about Selmayr during the meeting with the EPP, von der Leyen replied "there can be only one high-ranking German at the top" of the Commission. "And," she added, "hopefully this will be me.”

If that remark reflects anxiety, there is good reason for it. Von der Leyen and her small team arrived in Strasbourg on Monday facing perhaps the toughest confirmation battle in the EU's history. While her nomination was not opposed by a single national leader, it infuriated MEPs, who had supported the lead candidate system where leaders are expected to choose a nominee put forward by one of the major political families.

Parliament itself, however, was unable to coalesce behind any of those lead candidates. While the center-right EPP came first in May's European election, it lost seats overall and is a minority in what is expected to be a pro-EU majority coalition with the Socialists, liberals and Greens.

After initial meetings with von der Leyen last week, the Greens announced they would oppose her candidacy, as did a leftist coalition. Right-wing, nationalist and Euroskeptic forces seemed divided over whether to support von der Leyen — possibly as a way to complicate her relations with pro-EU parties — or to oppose her in hopes of contributing to a leadership breakdown.

Polish defeat
Last week, MEPs from the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group said their support hinges on securing powerful committee posts. Many in the ECR, particularly the Poles, were infuriated when former Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło was blocked from becoming chairwoman of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.

Szydło lost that battle on Monday evening, with 34 votes against her candidacy and 19 in favor. ECR officials had warned that if Szydło was not elected to the post, von der Leyen would likely lose the backing of roughly 62 MEPs.

“Clarifying Vestager’s role is important because otherwise you create a decision-making hierarchy” — Fredrick Federley, liberal Swedish MEP

Meanwhile, the pro-EU S&D and liberal Renew Europe groups presented their demands, with the liberals insisting that their own Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager get the same vice presidential rank in the new Commission as Socialist lead candidate Timmermans.

Von der Leyen's long lists of promises were delivered on Monday in letters providing her responses to such demands.

Her letter to Renew Europe's Romanian lead MEP Dacian Cioloş declared that Timmermans and Vestager would both be "executive vice presidents," with one acting as "first vice president" in von der Leyen's absence. Von der Leyen did not specify who that would be, but she had previously told the Socialists that Timmermans would retain his "first vice president" role.

Most Renew Europe MEPs were expected to vote for von der Leyen, with the exception of some small parties like D66 from the Netherlands, but Cioloş plans to seek final clarifications, including on the status of Vestager.

“Clarifying Vestager’s role is important because otherwise you create a decision-making hierarchy,” said Fredrick Federley, a liberal Swedish MEP, adding however that an endorsement from Renew Europe is “good to go.”

Other critics said von der Leyen had not sufficiently addressed allegations of mismanagement and overspending at the German defense ministry during her tenure there.

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