EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is quietly dropping unpopular climate policies as she prepares to stand for a second term in the EU top job.
Long expected to announce her intention to seek reelection, especially after reportedly being prevented from becoming NATO Secretary-General, von der Leyen confirmed her desire to run again for the Commission gig on Monday despite grumblings in her centrist EPP parliamentary group about the impact her climate policies are having on farmers.
Personally spearheaded by von der Leyen, a series of aggressive green policies were launched by the EU in 2019, only to be derailed by the impact of COVID and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a conscious effort to avoid losing votes, von der Leyen watered down her onerous Green Deal with an announcement scaling back restrictions on pesticides earlier this month. Her support for green policies has put her at odds even with her own centrist EPP party, which is pushing ahead with plans to ditch a ban on combustion engines after 2035, despite the ban previously being a flagship policy of von der Leyen herself.
The spate of grassroots farmers’ protests has forced the EU into a rhetorical retreat on certain green issues. Von der Leyen is reported to be sidelining key policies on food sustainability for the next term, according to Commission insiders, at least for the looming election period. Additionally, she has already reportedly dropped plans to regulate the use of vapes and put new health warnings on alcohol.
Instead, von der Leyen is putting a greater emphasis on defence, heading into 2024 with growing consensus that the EU will develop its own Defence Commissioner to centralise security policy away from individual member states.
The ongoing war in Ukraine, as well as fears of a Trump White House taking a tougher line on NATO members, has spurred a scramble for a centralised procurement and rearmament policy, conveniently a major goal of Eurofederalists. However, industry insiders are already sceptical about Brussels’ ability to get the Continent in fighting order, preferring nation-state-led initiatives instead.
