Foreign
URSULA von der Leyen is promising a new commissioner for defence ahead of a vote in the European Parliament on her second term as president of the European Commission.
von der Leyen in a policy document published before the vote said, the commission will build a “true European Defence Union’’ for the arms industry, while stressing that EU countries will always be responsible for their armies.
The political roadmap also focuses strongly on the European Union’s economy, pledging a new competitiveness fund for investment in technologies like AI and to develop the bloc’s capital markets.
Other measures include a pledge to legally enshrine a target to reduce EU carbon emissions by 90 per cent by 2040.
However, von der Leyen said that she would push for exemptions for so-called e-fuels in the bloc’s contested phase-out of combustion engines.
Von der Leyen also pledged that the commission would address housing in the EU for the first time with the policy area added to a commissioner’s responsibilities. (dpa/NAN)
18th July, 2024.
C.E.
Tags: European Union Ursula von der Leyen
