Opinions

The Ursula von der Leyen moment,

by Catherine E. De Vries, Simon Hix, Isabell Hoffmann

9 May 2024

Aggiungi Il Sole 24 Ore
ai preferiti su Google

3' min read

The list of reforms the EU needs to make is long. With the ongoing war in Ukraine and Gaza, and the cooling of relations between China and the United States, the EU needs to integrate the defence sector to face new geopolitical challenges. Economic and monetary union may not be sustainable without greater fiscal integration and a strengthening of the European Single Market. New technologies must be harnessed to generate prosperity for the next generation. The EU-27 is committed to enlargement to 30 or more Member States.

Yet turnout in European elections is always low, not least because their outcome has little impact on the orientation of the Commission and the choice of its leadership. But a window of opportunity is opening, and European leaders should exploit it.

Previous presidents of the EU Commission, such as Jean-Claude Juncker or José Manuel Barroso, were unknown to most of the public. But our latest survey, www.eupinions.eu, shows that today a large majority of Europeans know that Ursula von der Leyen is at the head of the Commission: the German politician has captured the voters' attention like no other EU leader before her. Almost 75% know her name and recognise her face.

Public attention to the EU's coordinated responses to the two major crises that unfolded during her first five-year term - the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine - seems to have played a role in giving her much greater recognition than that of her predecessors, such as Jean-Claude Juncker, who had a 40 per cent notoriety.

Von der Leyen's pronounced profile has also come in for criticism. For example, for her tendency to act alone. During an unscheduled trip to Israel after the 7 October attacks, she expressed unconditional support for the country in its battle against Hamas. Such sharpness would have been appropriate for the US president, but not for the Commission president, since the EU member states do not have a uniform approach on the issue. The EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, publicly reprimanded Von der Leyen for not working on a common position for the entire EU.

Von der Leyen's recognisability does not guarantee victory in the June elections for the parties that make up the 'grand coalition' that supported her in her first term: social democrats, conservatives and liberals. On the contrary, we are likely to see a turn of the new parliament towards the extreme right.

However, these elections also offer an opportunity. Von der Leyen, whose political background is in the conservative Cdu party in Germany, is the 'leading candidate' of the centre-right European People's Party, which polls indicate will remain the largest group in the new legislature. This should ensure his reappointment as Commission President.

Moreover, given Von der Leyen's pronounced public profile, for the first time voters should perceive a clearer link between their role in the direct election of parliament and the appointment process of the Commission President, the most powerful political office in the EU. This link will provide a clear political mandate.

If confirmed in her post, Von der Leyen could draw inspiration from the best known of his predecessors, the French socialist Jacques Delors. In his second term, Delors devoted himself to a plan for economic and monetary union and initiated the process that led to the Maastricht Treaty of 1992. Von der Leyen has to propose an equally ambitious reform agenda.

These reforms will be more difficult with 27 member states than with the dozen in Delors' time. However, unlike Delors, Von der Leyen will be able to build on the support of European voters.

No institutional reform, no matter how well designed, will immediately make the EU ready to face the challenges ahead. But with further enlargement of the number of member states on the horizon, it is better for European leaders to design and approve reforms now that will strengthen the EU's capacity to act.

To achieve this, they can count on Ursula von der Leyen, who is a skilled mediator and has put a public face on the EU executive. If national leaders support her, she can bring about the change that an expanding EU so desperately needs.

Brand connect

I prossimi eventi

Tutti gli eventi

Notizie e approfondimenti sugli avvenimenti politici, economici e finanziari.

Comments

The Ursula von der Leyen moment,

Brand connect

I prossimi eventi

Newsletter