The European Commission published on 1 March a booklet listing the achievements of the current Commission following the recent announcement that its President, Ursula von der Leyen, will run for a second term in the office.
As previously reported, she announced her candidacy for the post at a meeting with her party in Germany, the CDU (Christian Democratic Union). The CDU will support von der Leyen's candidacy with the European People's Party (EPP), its political group in the European Parliament. The EPP is due to announce its leader for the European Elections at a congress in Bucharest on 6 and 7 March.
In the booklet, the Commission writes that it has kept its promise to Europe. “When the von der Leyen Commission took office in December 2019, we made a pledge to Europe: we promised to be bold and ambitious. We vowed to meet the aspirations of EU citizens and to address challenges as they emerged.”
“Since then, this Commission has worked tirelessly to deliver on the job with which the European people entrusted it.”
And we kept our promise, it claims, despite multiple crises. “From tackling a global pandemic to dealing with climate change’s extreme weather events, from responding to Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine to managing the worst energy crisis in decades, we rolled up our sleeves and tackled extraordinary challenges head-on.”
The 50-pages booklet reads as an EU fact sheet on all major policy areas but with emphasis on the Commission’s key achievements. If there were any shortcomings, the reader will have to look for them in the reporting by media or the reports of the European Court of Auditors (ECA).
The Commission’s chief spokesperson, Eric Mamer, explained at today’s press conference that the work on the booklet had started last December before von der Leyen’s announcement and aimed at describing the work done by the current Commission before the end of its term. There were even journalists who had asked for a summary of the Commission’s policies and results, he said.
It is normal that institutions and enterprises publish activity reports. In this case, the term of the Commission ends in Autumn after the elections to the European Parliament in June. The story of the von der Leyen Commission is published timely before the elections.
M. Apelblat
The Brussels Times
