Romana Tomc, Milan Zver and Franc Bogovič, MEPs from the European People’s Party (EPP), are dissatisfied with the work of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. She has recently announced her candidacy for a second term. Slovenian MEPs accuse her of making the wrong decisions and lacking decisiveness. However, MEP Ljudmila Novak from the same party has expressed her support for another term of von der Leyen at the helm of the European Commission.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has confirmed that she intends to continue her work as the head of the European Union’s executive branch of power for another five years, but there have been many criticisms of her leadership.
“Ursula von der Leyen is not my choice, and I do not support her. I am not convinced by her performance and even less by her past decisions, many of which have been completely wrong. Even if she tries to convince others with her sophisticated communication, she is a weak leader. Europe needs decisiveness in action – not just in words – in the period ahead,” MEP Romana Tomc told the Slovenian Press Agency (STA). In the past, she has been critical of Von der Leyen for not standing up for the rule of law and the depoliticisation of the media in countries where left-wing parties are in power.
Tomc’s party colleague MEP Milan Zver explained that the decision to support the current Commission President as the EPP’s leading candidate in the June European elections is likely to be taken at the party level. He expressed his dissatisfaction with her work in the current mandate, especially in the area of the green transition. “In the next mandate, Europe’s economy and agriculture will have to be tackled, and I am not sure that those who have made the wrong decisions in this mandate can do so,” he wrote.
Bogovič: the results of her work in several areas are very poor
MEP Franc Bogovič also said that he does not support Von der Leyen, explaining that “the results of her work and that of the European Commission in this mandate in the field of agricultural, energy, environmental and economic policies are very poor,” he wrote. He added that under her leadership, the Commission had “put Europe’s food, energy and defence security in doubt with misguided measures.” The Slovenian People’s Party (Slovenska ljudska stranka – SLS) has already announced that its delegation to the March EPP congress will not support the candidacy of the current Commission President as a leading candidate in the European elections.
Despite supporting bad policies, von der Leyen is supported by Ljudmila Novak
Despite the poor results of von der Leyen’s work, MEP Ljudmila Novak has expressed her support for the European Union’s policies, which have proved to be poor in several areas. “Her continued mandate would enable consistency and stability in the implementation of the policies set out and the further development of the European Union towards a sustainable, innovative and united Europe,” she believes.
After the European elections, scheduled between the 6th and 9th of June, Member States will have to choose von der Leyen’s successor (with a qualified majority), and the European Parliament will then have to confirm this by a vote (with an absolute majority). Every five years, the 27 Member States also appoint the President of the European Council and Parliament and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs.
T. B.
