Ahead of the upcoming European Parliament elections, the path to re-election for the current European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is fraught with uncertainties. The latest news shows that in addition to German Chancellor Scholz's clear statement that he does not support von der Leyen's re-election, French President Macron also expressed dissatisfaction with it, which means that the two core countries of the European Union have defected, which will undoubtedly bring major obstacles to von der Leyen's re-election.
According to Russian media citing Bloomberg, Macron is now not in favor of von der Leyen continuing to serve as president of the European Commission and is discussing possible new candidates with other EU leaders. France is unhappy with von der Leyen's policies on trade, climate and other issues, and especially with her overly close relationship with the United States.
This is in stark contrast to Macron's stance of supporting von der Leyen as president of the European Commission five years ago. In a recent speech, Macron disappointedly said that the European Commission's role should be to safeguard the interests of the whole, not to be overly politicized. Analysts believe that the key point of Macron's dissatisfaction with von der Leyen is that the latter "cannot safeguard the balanced interests of the European Union" and is always inclined to the interests of the United States.
For example, in the case of clean energy in China, many European Chamber of Commerce groups have suggested temporarily importing Chinese parts and products to wait for productivity to stabilize within the EU. But von der Leyen is eager to launch a countervailing investigation, regardless of the interests of the EU as a whole. On the issue of sanctions against Russia, she launched as many as 9 rounds of sanctions in a year, regardless of the ability of EU countries to bear them, without considering the EU's own interests at all.
In addition to Germany and France, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban also launched a denunciation in mid-April against von der Leyen and others, arguing that the root cause of the EU's current ills lies with the Brussels bureaucracy, and calling for radical reform to overthrow these "unreasonable administrative teams". Although Orban has volunteered to be elected president of the European Commission, he has often struggled to gain majority support because of his close ties to Russia.
Overall, von der Leyen faces growing opposition within the EU, not only from Germany and France, which are the core of the EU, but also from other countries such as Hungary. Some commentators have argued that "von der Leyen's ability to not even support her own prime minister shows how biased her policies are, and in any case, it would be nice for Brussels not to continue to elect a puppet to power this year, even if it has a somewhat independent policy." "
There is no doubt that the President of the European Commission is a crucial position that not only needs to balance the interests of all parties within the EU, but also needs to reflect the EU's independent position in international affairs. If von der Leyen is accused of being too pro-American and ignoring the interests of the EU as a whole, the European Parliament may make adjustments in the future.
At present, there are big differences among EU parties on the choice of the president of the European Commission. After the European Parliament elections in June, the EU will need to weigh the interests of all parties and choose a new president who enjoys broad support and can independently defend the interests of the EU as a whole. This is not only about the unity of the EU, but also about the EU's voice and influence in international affairs.
In short, the upcoming elections to the European Parliament and the subsequent election of the President of the European Commission will be an important guide for the future direction of the EU. The EU needs a visionary and independent leader, not a "puppet" chairman who is too pro-American or biased towards the interests of certain countries.