“I took office in 2019 because I firmly believe in Europe. For me, Europe is home.” and “today, five years later, I am making a very conscious and considered decision to run for a second term” at the head of the European Commission. Ursula von der Leyen confirmed this in a press conference in Berlin with CDU leader Friedrich Merz and announced her candidacy for the European elections as the EPP's top candidate. “In these five years, not only my passion for Europe has grown, but also my experience of what this Europe can achieve for its citizens.”
Before the party conference of the European People's Party (EPP), the federal leadership of the CDU unanimously proposed the appointment of von der Leyens as the top candidate. scheduled for March 6th and 7th in Bucharest, when the candidacy will be officially announced. “The world today is completely different in 2019, we have been through a lot together in the last five years and I think you can say that we have achieved more than we could ever imagine,” von der Leyen emphasized, recalling : “ “Five years as challenging as they are extraordinary” with the world and Europe overwhelmed by the Covid pandemic when she was in office for “less than a hundred days”. “It was a bad time and we had to take completely new paths, but as a result we defeated the virus together. “We mastered all this with united forces” and “we managed to avoid a severe economic recession,” emphasized the President of the European Commission.
“Amidst its economic recovery, Russia invaded Ukraine in Europe's largest land war since 1945. The EU acted immediately and we stood firmly by Ukraine from day one. Then Putin tried to bring us to our knees and always tried to use “oil and gas” as a weapon, von der Leyen added, pointing out that even in this situation Europe “maintains its position” and “Together we will overcome the biggest energy crisis of the last forty years.”
“The most important thing” for Europe “is democracy, the rule of law that we defend and the peace that we share” and “the task of this election campaign” is “to give our opponents, i.e. Putin and his friends, be they the AfD, Marine Le Pen, Wilders, or other extreme forces that hinder democracy in Europe. They want to destroy Europe.” This was what the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said at a press conference in Berlin with the CDU leader Friedrich Merz. “That’s why it’s important to vote and strengthen the center,” he added.
“I am having intensive discussions with farmers; now it is important to combine climate goals and the economy.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this at a press conference in Berlin with CDU leader Friedrich Merz in response to a question about criticism of the Green Deal and her future plans for a green EU policy. “There is great agreement on the climate goals unanimously agreed by all 27 member states” towards “neutrality in 2050” and “we are working with industry”, tackling the environmental issue “sector by sector and checking how we can do this.” “Achieving our common goals,” explained von der Leyen. Brussels is “also asking the agricultural sector the question,” he added, “what we need in order to achieve our goals. That will be the main task in the coming years.”
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