Save your skin at all costs? Leyen is considering a total change

On Monday evening in a debate on the future of the European Union hosted by the server POLITICO and Studio Europa Maastricht, the current president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has indicated that she would be open to a deal with the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group after the EU-wide elections.

Cooperation with the ECR “very much depends on the composition of the Parliament and who is in which group,” von der Leyen said. Von der Leyen set the conditions for cooperation with part of the ECR, saying that parties joining her potential coalition it must be for NATO, for the EU, for Ukraine and for the rule of law.

The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) faction is characterized by mild Euroscepticism, conservatism and is slightly more to the right than von der Leyen’s European People’s Party (EPP). As of 2019, 61 MEPs from 15 member states were part of the faction. The related political party of the ECR is the Czech Civic Democratic Party with MEPs Jan Zahradil, Alexander Vondra, Veronika Vrecionová and Evžen Tošenovský. The ranks of the ECR are expected to widen after the June elections.

The union of the ECR and the EPP could thus mean a significant shift of the European Union’s policy to the right, whether it is about the topics of migration or climate legislation. In recent months, von der Leyen has already weakened the green direction of the European Union’s policy, despite the fact that since 2019 the loose coalition of the EPP, Socialists, Liberals and occasionally the Greens has been adopting ambitious climate laws.

However, the agreement between the ECR and the EPP could break the coalition between von der Leyen and the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), which the current President of the Commission needs to maintain in order to gain sufficient support for her second term at the head of the Commission. The new commission will be appointed by the leaders of the European Union after the elections. In order to take office, the support of the majority of the 720 members of the European Parliament will be required.

“Values and rights cannot be divided according to some political agreements,” said Nicolas Schmit, the main candidate of the Socialists. our Commission fought,” he said, adding that the Socialists would not be able to vote for the program issued by the ECR.

Von der Leyen unequivocally ruled out a pact with the Identity and Democracy faction. In the debate, the president of the European Commission sharply attacked far-right parties such as Germany’s AfD, which are running in the European Parliament elections, telling them to get rid of Kremlin propaganda.

“When I see what your colleagues from the AfD, the leading candidates, have done, they are being investigated for being in the pocket of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin…,” von der Leyen said in response to the arrest of an aide to Germany’s AfD lead candidate, Maximilian Krah, who was charged from espionage.

“If you look at the election program (of the far right), you will see that it reflects the Kremlin’s lies and propaganda. So get your house in order first before you start criticizing us,” von der Leyen was quoted as saying by the agency Reuters.

In the debate, von der Leyen presented herself as a unifying candidate. She warned that Europe faces the danger of attacks by Vladimir Putin’s proxies, who are trying to undermine democracy in the European Union. She added that she wants to fight for a strong Europe for the sake of her children and grandchildren.

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