On 27 November, the new College of Commissioners was approved by the European Parliament by 461 to 157 against, with 89 abstentions. The new European Commission will take office on 1 December.
The new Commission received overwhelming support from the EPP, S&D and Renew Europe. The Greens were split on this issue, as some members voted in favour of the new Commission despite calls from the leadership to abstain. In her speech, unsurprisingly, von der Leyen noted that fight against climate change will be at the core of the EU’s economic policy. With regards to the European Green Deal, she noted it “is a must for the health of our planet, our people, and for our economy”, adding that “Frans Timmermans is the right person to make this happen”. The low carbon transition, she said, “must be just and inclusive or it will not happen at all”. To enable it, she pledged to “support people and businesses with a targeted just transition mechanism”.
Ursula von der Leyen’s full speech is available here.