Following her re-election as President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen is planning a new Circular Economy Act, according to her political guidelines for the period until 2029. This legislation is to help "create market demand for secondary raw materials and a single market for waste, notably in relation to critical raw materials”, according to the sole mention of this topic area in the document published on Thursday ahead of the European Parliament's vote.
In this programme for her second term as EU Commission President, the German politician says "working to decarbonise our economy will be part of our continued shift to a more sustainable pattern of production and consumption, retaining the value of resources in our economy for longer”. However, the document does not provide any details about the planned EU legislation.
With regard to chemicals legislation, the Commission President envisages a new package that aims to "provide clarity” on PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as "forever chemicals”) and simplify the EU Chemicals Regulation (REACh).
Staying on course with Green Deal targets
Looking back on the initiatives during Ms von der Leyen’s first term, the guidelines say "we must and will stay the course on the goals set out in the European Green Deal”. The Commission must now focus on "implementing what we have agreed, working closely with all stakeholders and focusing on our big challenges”. For the EU’s path to climate neutrality by 2050, a Climate Law is to establish an interim target for 2040 requiring greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced by at least 90 per cent compared with 1990 levels.
Within the first 100 days of her mandate, Ms von der Leyen intends to present a strategy for clean industry in Europe. This "Clean Industrial Deal” would channel investment in infrastructure and industry, in particular for energy-intensive sectors, the politician said in a speech given to the European Parliament in Strasbourg as she campaigned to secure a second term. "This will help create lead markets in everything from clean steel to clean tech and it will speed up planning, tendering, and permitting,” she said. Ms von der Leyen, who is a member of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) group, also promised to reduce bureaucracy in other areas.
To ensure secure supplies for industry, she wants to expand the EU's joint procurement mechanism to include critical raw materials and hydrogen in addition to natural gas. The programme also states the EU will develop new clean trade and investment partnerships relating to critical minerals and raw materials.
Von der Leyen elected with votes from Greens
The European Parliament elected Ms von der Leyen as President of the European Commission with 401 votes in favour in a secret paper ballot. The Parliament currently has 719 members, so 360 votes were required for a majority. 284 MEPs voted against von der Leyen, and 22 ballots were unmarked or invalid.
At a press conference held after the voting, Ms von der Leyen described the outcome as "a strong message of confidence” and "a very good foundation for the next five years”, noting she received 41 votes more than the necessary majority, as compared to only eight votes more in her previous election.
The incumbent candidate received support from her own centre-right EPP group as well as the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and the liberal Renew Europe fraction. The Greens also officially announced on Thursday morning they would be voting for Ms von der Leyen as Commission President. The group had previously abstained from voting when she was on the ballot for her first mandate. By contrast, the MEPs belonging to Germany's liberal FDP party voted against von der Leyen.
As the next step in forming the new European Commission, the newly elected Commission President will call on national and government leaders in the member states to nominate their candidates for the EU Commissioner posts. After the summer break, the candidates will then be subject to hearings at the European Parliament by the respective committees. The entire roster or "college" of Commissioners must then be confirmed as a whole by the Parliament.
