On Wednesday, 27 November, MEPs gathered for the European Parliament Plenary on the new College of Commissioners and its programme, to vote on the approval of the new college. The session began with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s speech thanking the outgoing College and sharing an outline of the plan for the new College.
Von der Leyen announced her plan for a Competitive Compass, built on the three pillars of the Draghi report (innovation, decarbonisation, security), and which will frame the work of the Commission for the next term. The first will be to close the innovation gap with the US and China. The second is a joint plan for decarbonisation and competitiveness, while the third is to increase security and reduce dependencies.
Von der Leyen proposed plans for Europe to be home to the next wave of frontier technologies by using digital technologies to boost its prosperity and unleash innovation. This will be led by Commissioner-designate Henna Virkkunen. The Clean Industrial Deal will be put forward within the first 100 days to support industry in the Green Transition, while Russian LNG imports will be replaced, bringing down energy costs for houses and companies.
Maroš Šefčovič has been tasked with delivering more partnerships, trade and investments to ensure stable and secure supply chains, including critical raw materials. Von der Leyen also confirmed that Hadja Lahbib will work on crisis response and preparedness, alongside HERA while Olivér Várhelyi will lead the work on biotechnologies and the Critical Medicines Act.
Von der Leyen has proposed a European Savings and Investments Union, to be led by Maria Luís Albuquerque, to help ensure European companies can find the capital they need in Europe and plans to reduce regulatory burdens for companies, asking Valdis Dombrovskis to take the lead on simplification and implementation, making business easy across Europe. She also announced plans for a new omnibus legislation within the next mandate. Von der Leyen has tasked Michael McGrath to be a guardian of the EU’s values and principles, ensuring that the rule of law remains at the heart of our European project.
Ursula von der Leyen’s speech outlines a comprehensive plan for the Commission’s next term, with a clear focus on competitiveness, innovation, sustainability, and resilience. Closing the innovation gap will be key, particularly in fields such as AI, semiconductors, and digital infrastructure. The EU will also aim to be less dependent on third parties, particularly in energy and critical raw materials. Von der Leyen is expecting effective collaboration among the Commissioners to achieve these goals.
The European Parliament voted in favour of approving the College of Commissioners with 370 votes, 282 votes against and 36 abstentions. The new European Commission will begin its work on 1 December.
