Europe’s Choice: Von der Leyen’s Political Guidelines for Next Term
After an informal and a formal meeting of EU heads of state in June and a constituent plenary sitting of the Parliament in July, on Thursday 18 July Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected for a second term as the President of the European Commission, with 401 votes in favour and 284 against.
On that occasion, the candidate released her New Political Guidelines for the European Commission 2024-2029, presenting the strategic plan for the next five years. Because of the modified and fractured political landscape, von der Leyen needs to balance the demands of the right-leaning Parliament while continuing to push forward key initiatives like the Green Deal, and the document represents a clear manifestation of this effort.
The Guidelines, entitled “Europe’s Choice”, articulate in seven chapters the priorities of the upcoming Commission:
A new plan for Europe’s sustainable prosperity and competitiveness
A new era for European Defence and Security
Supporting people, strengthening our societies and our social model
Sustaining our quality of life: food security, water and nature
Protecting our democracy, upholding our values
A global Europe: Leveraging our power and partnerships
Delivering together and preparing our Union for the future
The first and most important chapter focuses on the competitiveness of the EU, stating the need for a new European Prosperity Plan to make business easier (reducing administrative burdens and simplifying implementation), deepen the Single Market, build a Clean Industrial Deal to decarbonize and bring down energy prices and create a more circular and resilient economy. It also stresses the importance of boosting productivity and digital tech diffusion and investing massively in sustainable competitiveness, unlocking the financing needed for the green digital and social transition.
As President von der Leyen puts it, “Europe cannot afford to fall behind and lose its competitive edge in this [global] race, nor can it leave any strategic vulnerabilities exposed”.
The other chapters of the Guidelines cover the urgency for an enhanced European Defence and Security plan, a renewed attention to democracy and social fairness (with a special focus on supporting young people), the necessity to maintain our quality of life—including food security, water and nature protection—and a new strategy to leverage EU power and global partnerships worldwide. As in these past five years Europe has set course on an ambitious programme of modernisation, the focus must now be on implementation, investment and reform: for this reason, the final chapter emphasises the intention to have a modern and reinforced long-term EU budget, fit to achieve the ambitions set out.
The Guidelines can be seen as a wide call for strength and unity, as Europe is challenged by generational threats that cannot be overcome without joint action.
“In a world of adversity and uncertainty,” states von der Leyen, “I believe Europe must choose to stick together and dare to think and act big. To live up to the legacy of our past, to deliver for the present, and to prepare a stronger Union for the future”.
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Contact Morris Massarutto
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