European Parliament approves new European Commission

Strasbourg, Nov 28 The European Parliament approved the new team of the European Commission, led by Germany's Ursula von der Leyen, who will serve her second five-year term as president.

Lawmakers voted 370 in favor, 282 against, with 36 abstentions, giving the green light to the 27-member executive team on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Janis Emmanouilidis, deputy chief executive of the European Policy Centre, said the new Commission reflects enhanced "presidentialisation," with the commissioners largely aligned with von der Leyen. Unlike the previous term, dissenting voices appear absent.

While a strong president offers continuity during challenging times, Emmanouilidis stressed the importance of maintaining a "strong cabinet."

Former Polish lawmaker Jacek Saryusz-Wolski criticised the approval of the new Commission on his social media, calling it "the lowest European Parliament approval in history" and alleging the outcome was driven by "inter-party bargains."

Von der Leyen delivered a speech before the vote on Wednesday. In her speech, von der Leyen unveiled the Competitiveness Compass, marking the first major initiative of the new College of Commissioners. This initiative is grounded in three key pillars: closing the innovation gap, implementing a joint plan for decarbonisation and competitiveness, and enhancing security while reducing dependencies, according to von der Leyen.

"We are roughly as good as the US at creating start-ups. But when it comes to scale-ups, we are doing much worse than our competitors," von der Leyen said, underscoring the new Commission's commitment to increasing investment and a sharper strategic focus on innovation.

In terms of decarbonisation and competitiveness, "we must and will stay the course on the goals of the European Green Deal," von der Leyen said, vowing to put forward a Clean Industrial Deal within the first 100 days of the mandate.

Von der Leyen also emphasised the critical role of stable and secure supply chains in ensuring economic security.