How Ursula von der Leyen Secured a Second Term
But also — Vaccines, Hungary, European Political Community, Inflation, Stability and Growth Pact, Israel, TikTok, Hydrogen
Hello! It’s Tuesday 23 July, and here is your EU news summary for the week. Feel free to share this newsletter with friends and colleagues, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
The Briefing
Early in the afternoon last Thursday, the entire EU bubble held its breath: the European Parliament was voting on whether to accept or reject Ursula von der Leyen’s nomination as President of the European Commission. The former German minister secured a comfortable majority and will therefore remain at the Commission’s helm for another five years.
401 • After her nomination by the European Council, only one step remained for Ursula von der Leyen to secure a second term: gaining the support of a majority of the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).
In 2019, Ursula von der Leyen was elected with a narrow margin of just 9 votes in the European Parliament. This time, she secured 41 votes more than the required majority (360 votes), totaling 401 votes in her favor.
But nothing was guaranteed for the former German minister. Although Ursula von der Leyen is supported by the majority coalition comprising the Social Democrats (S&D), the Liberals (Renew Europe), and the European People's Party (EPP, to which she belongs), this did not guarantee her a majority on the day of the vote.
Several political parties within the coalition — such as the German Liberals (Renew) — had already announced that they would not vote in her favor. Moreover, the vote is conducted by secret ballot, allowing MEPs who are secretly opposed to her re-election to express themselves freely. In previous years, it is estimated that 10% of the centrist coalition did not support their candidate.
In short: Ursula von der Leyen could not rely solely on her centrist allies. She needed additional support, and she found it.
GREEN LIGHT • "The Greens/EFA Group has formally decided to support Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission President," declared the group a few minutes before the vote. This announcement put an end to weeks of speculation about von der Leyen's strategy. The former German minister had two options:
Seek support to the right of the EPP, from the Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, particularly from MEPs close to Giorgia Meloni. The risks of this strategy? Alienating the S&D, which opposes any form of alliance with the ECR group.
Obtain support from the Greens, weakened in this new European Parliament and therefore determined to make compromises to retain their influence. The risks of this strategy? Alienating part of the EPP, which denounces overregulation on environmental issues.
The current Commission President chose the second option. "We have secured commitments [from Ursula von der Leyen] on the Green Deal, making the EU more socially fair and protecting democracy. We keep the far-right out of power," explained the Greens/EFA group.
The ECR group did not make its position public ahead of the vote. After the results, Giorgia Meloni stated that her party (Brothers of Italy) had not voted for the candidate, likely because it was clear von der Leyen had chosen to ally with the Greens.
The faction of the ECR group close to the Italian Prime Minister was the most likely to support von der Leyen, suggesting that the group largely voted against the candidate (or abstained).
Ursula von der Leyen probably owes her re-election to the support of the Greens. The group has 53 MEPs, but not all voted for von der Leyen: the French distanced themselves from the rest of the group.
POLICIES • On the morning of the vote, the Commission President presented her policy guidelines — a document detailing her proposals and priorities for the next five years. She then delivered a speech before the MEPs.
Von der Leyen's speech reflects trade-offs aimed at securing the support of the Greens while meeting the expectations of her political group, the EPP. Von der Leyen's proposals on environmental and climate issues are significantly more focused on competitiveness and purchasing power than five years ago. In a nutshell, von der Leyen aims to "stick to the targets of the European Green Deal with pragmatism".
Some notable proposals:
The creation of a Commission Vice-President position responsible for reducing red tape.
A proposal for a Clean Industrial Deal within the first 100 days of the new Commission.
The inclusion of the 90% emissions reduction target by 2040 in the European Climate Law.
The creation of a European Competitiveness Fund.
The building of a real European Defense Union (European Air Shield, accelerated investments, creation of a European Defense Commissioner).
The tripling of European border guards and coast guards, reaching a total of 30,000 individuals.
The creation of a Commissioner for the Mediterranean.
A new European strategy for agriculture and the food sector, as well as a strategy for adapting the agricultural sector to climate change.
The creation of a Commissioner for housing position.
THE REST • And that’s not all. The constitutive plenary session was also an opportunity to elect the new bureau of the European Parliament. Maltese Roberta Metsola (EPP) was re-elected as President of the European Parliament with an overwhelming majority.
The Parliament also unveiled the list of members of the various parliamentary committees. These committees will hold their constitutive meetings on July 23, at which time the presidents and vice-presidents of each committee will be elected.
In Case You Missed It
VACCINES • On the eve of the European Parliament's vote on Ursula von der Leyen, the EU Court issued two rulings concerning cases related to access to Covid-19 vaccine purchase contracts. The Court found that the European Commission did not provide the public with sufficiently wide access to these contracts.
In 2020 and 2021, the Commission concluded several contracts with pharmaceutical companies (notably: Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna), ordering more than one billion doses of vaccines for approximately 2.7 billion euros in total.
In 2021, MEPs requested access to these contracts, but the Commission only provided partial access to the documents, leading several MEPs from the Greens to take the matter to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) to request full access to the contracts.
The Court partially upheld the two appeals and annulled the Commission's decisions. The Court considered that some information related to the conflicts of interest of those involved in negotiating these contracts should have been disclosed. The Left group in the European Parliament used this argument to attempt to postpone the vote on Ursula von der Leyen's appointment at the helm of the European Commission.
Von der Leyen is involved in another case concerning her refusal to disclose text messages exchanged with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla — it is The New York Times that took the matter to the CJEU in early 2023.
MAKE MEDIA GREAT AGAIN • It’s a start to the presidency of the EU Council that will surely be remembered. After the highly controversial trip of its Prime Minister to Moscow, the Hungarian government is challenging the Media Freedom Act before the EU Court of Justice. The appeal was filed on July 10.
Hungary accuses the Council and Parliament (co-legislators) of overstepping their powers to adopt this regulation — which is aimed at ensuring pluralism and independence of the media in Europe.
The Media Freedom Act will give the EU tools (starting in 2025) to combat interference and political appointments in public media, regulate the use of spyware against journalists, such as Pegasus, and control the degree of concentration in the sector.
The erosion of press freedom in Viktor Orban's Hungary is well-documented. In addition to increasingly numerous regulatory obstacles, opposition media are deprived of subsidies and access to advertisers.
The Media Freedom Act notably states that grants must be awarded transparently, proportionately, and non-discriminatory.
Hungary is not the only one to have expressed concerns about the division of competencies between the EU and member states. The German Länder have also been critical of the legal basis of the text.
Press law is traditionally a national competence. However, the regulation is based on Article 114 of the TFEU, i.e., the harmonization of rules within the internal market.
EPC • On July 18, the fourth meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) took place at Blenheim Palace, near Oxford. The EPC was created at the initiative of France following the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the aim of bringing together the heads of state and government of the European continent (beyond the EU) to strengthen dialogue and cooperation.
This edition took place shortly after Keir Starmer came to power, who wishes to reset relations between the EU and the UK. The main topics of this summit were migration, energy security, support for Ukraine, and the threat of Russia to the European continent. Turkish President Erdogan was absent for the third time in a row.
ECB • The European Central Bank (ECB) kept its key interest rates unchanged following its monetary policy meeting on July 18. The deposit facility remains at 3.75%.
Geopolitical uncertainties and the persistence of relatively high wage inflation in the eurozone justify this pause in rate cuts. The first rate cut (-0.25%) occurred in June, after 11 consecutive hikes since the summer of 2022.
The next monetary policy meeting is scheduled for September. A further rate cut will only be on the agenda if the ECB obtains robust evidence of a decline in inflation.
SGP • The FT obtained the draft budgetary guidelines provided by the European Commission to the French government in late June as part of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP).
European rules require a fiscal effort of 15.4 billion euros per year over the next seven years, or 0.6% of GDP. The Commission transmitted its proposal to the Council on July 8, noting the existence of an excessive deficit in France.
ISRAEL • On July 15, the EU Council approved sanctions (restrictive measures) against five individuals and three entities for their role in "serious and systematic violations" of human rights in the West Bank.
Among those sanctioned is the organization Tzav 9, which blocked humanitarian convoys to the Gaza Strip. The sanctions include a travel ban within the EU and the freezing of their assets.
TIKTOK • The EU Court confirmed that ByteDance (owner of TikTok) is indeed a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
ByteDance had appealed the designation decision made by the European Commission in November 2023 — it denied having significant market power in Europe.
The Court's decision validates the methodology used by the European Commission.
HYDROGEN • The European Court of Auditors published a report criticizing the European Commission for setting unattainable targets for hydrogen production and import by 2030.
"The Commission did not undertake robust analyses before setting the EU’s
renewable hydrogen production and import targets," note the authors of the report, who argue that a "reality check" is necessary.
What We’ve Been Reading
The Financial Times examines the reactions to two major new regulatory initiatives by the European Union. Javier Espinoza highlights concerns about the impact of the AI Act on innovation. Alan Beattie reports on the reactions of many emerging countries to the European regulation against deforestation requirements.
This edition was prepared by the What’s up EU team, including Hana Rajabally and Maxence de La Rochère. See you next week!