Von der Leyen calls on social democrats and liberals to cooperate
Published: Monday, Jun 10th 2024, 15:30
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Following the victory of her EPP party family in the European elections, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called on social democrats and liberals to continue their informal cooperation.
"In these turbulent times, we need stability, we need accountability and we need continuity," said the German CDU politician at a press conference in Berlin on Monday. Over the past five years, they had "worked together well and constructively in a spirit of trust". This has created a foundation that can now be built on.
When asked why she would not initially hold talks with the European Greens, she explained that the talks with the Social Democrats and Liberals were the first step, which could theoretically be followed by others.
However, CDU party leader Friedrich Merz pointed out that the center-right EPP alliance, together with the Social Democrats and Liberals, already has a comfortable majority of around 400 of the 720 votes in the new European Parliament.
At the same time, like von der Leyen, he did not rule out cooperation with parties such as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy). "The election losers have no right to dictate to us who we talk to and who we don't talk to," he said. Von der Leyen had previously said: "To save time, I am talking to those with whom I have now worked well and for a long time, but that also leaves doors open."
Regarding the ongoing dispute over the planned phase-out of combustion engines by 2035, von der Leyen said that she wanted to continue to focus on technological openness and pragmatism. She thus hinted that there could soon be a concrete proposal on how to prevent the already decided phase-out of combustion engines. The German FDP, among others, is demanding this as a prerequisite for supporting von der Leyen. In order to be re-elected Commission President by the European Parliament, the former German Defense Minister needs the support of other party families.
©Keystone/SDA
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