Greens/EFA Presidents meeting with Ursula von der Leyen
Quotes from Ska Keller & Philippe Lamberts
Today, the Presidents of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament met with nominee for Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen. The Greens/EFA group have now invited Ms von der Leyen to an upcoming group meeting, which has yet to be determined, where she will be questioned by our MEPs in a web-streamed meeting.
Ska Keller, President of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, comments:
"While we had a constructive and good meeting with Ms von der Leyen, we reiterated our bewilderment with the way this process in was handled in the Council. It's a huge step backwards for European democracy to have someone nominated who hasn’t been campaigning and hasn’t been a lead candidate. This is a major obstacle for us and we have asked what concrete guarantees she can give to bring democracy forward in the EU.
"We also expect to see clear proposals on policies such as a search and rescue mission in the Mediterranean Sea, a comprehensive rule of law framework and strict climate targets."
Philippe Lamberts, President of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, comments:
"Ursula von der Leyen came to meet us with plenty of goodwill, but when the house is burning goodwill is simply not enough. We were elected on a mandate for systemic change and now we need the nominee for Commission President to come forward with clear and ambitious plans on the climate crisis, social justice and the rule of law. Our group's votes do not come cheap and they will not come at the expense of the planet.
"Not only did the Council throw the lead candidacy system to the wind, but they picked someone who was not even remotely connected to EU processes, or was involved in any form of a European campaign in the elections. By rushing the process of choosing the next Commission president, the Council are undermining European democracy and this setback is a huge blow."
