Did you watch the speech? Striking an alarmist tone, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke for over an hour in the European Parliament this Wednesday. From a drone alliance with Ukraine to a European Affordable Housing Plan, she expressed her ‘wish list’ for Europe opening with the phrase – “Europe is in a fight”.
Andrea Wechsler, the German conservative MEP, Barry Andrews, the Irish liberal and Robert Biedron the Polish socialist followed the speech from inside the hemicycle and felt the substance was right but must be followed with concrete steps.
“I really want this Commission to start delivering,” Robert Biedron said alluding to the Russian drone incursion in Polish airspace this week.
“There is massive austerity, there are housing issues and of course you can make a nice speech, as Ursula von der Leyen did, and I support almost everything she said, including this e-car [material] where EPP was booing her,” he continued. “But I need her to deliver”.
Barry Andrews saw the speech as a clever way to unite the centrist groups of the European Parliament. He called out the leaders of the European People’s Party and the Socialists and Democrats for heckling throughout the speech and not supporting the centrist policies proposed by the Commission President.
“If we are serious about the serious threats that we have as a continent, as a Union, then we have to start right here to rebuild the central coalition, the pro-European coalition,” said Andrews.
Calls for sanctions against Israel
The panel also reacted to the European Commission President’s harsher tone against the actions of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu to annihilate Hamas. Calling the situation in Gaza ‘unacceptable’, Von der Leyen proposed a suspension of the trade part of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
Barry Andrews called it a big change in tone.
“It sends a very clear message to Israel,” said Andrews. “I think it really makes Israelis sit up straight and I think it’s well beyond time it should have been done.”
Andrea Wechsler, a German MEP from the same political party as von der Leyen was wary. In fact, many EPP MEPS were cross with her for “surprising” them with this change of stance.
“There’s certainly not a unified position on this,” said Wechsler. “We are still in debate in Europe about how we react to the Gaza dramatics that we’re seeing.”
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