New EU boss says Britain can’t escape backstop
The first woman to run the European Commission has vowed to block attempts by the next UK prime minister to ditch the Irish backstop.
Ursula von der Leyen, Germany’s defence minister, will succeed Jean-claude Juncker on October 31 – also the Brexit deadline – after the European parliament elected her by nine votes Tuesday.
Von der Leyen, a conservative, took 383 out of 733 votes cast in a secret ballot among MEPS, far fewer than the majority of 422 that won Juncker the job five years ago. She needed 374 MEPS to back her out of 747.
‘‘A majority is a majority,’’ she said. ‘‘I have always wanted to work for Europe. It is my passion.’’
In a sign that her position will be weak, her victory depended on the support of eurosceptic Polish nationalists as well as UK Liberal Democrats and Labour MEPS who will leave the parliament after Brexit.
After promises on Monday night by Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt to remove the Irish backstop, von der Leyen vowed to defend the withdrawal agreement, putting her at odds with the next prime minister.
‘‘The withdrawal agreement concluded with the government of the UK provides certainty,’’ she said. ‘‘It protects the rights of citizens and peace and stability on the island of Ireland – these two priorities are mine too.’’
She added that her commission would be willing to give Britain another extension to Brexit, beyond October 31, to find a way out of the impasse.
Asked whether she preferred Hunt to Johnson, she replied that she would work ‘‘very constructively’’ with all heads of government.
Her first mission will be to ensure equality between men and women in her line-up of European commissioners, one for each state of the EU, reversing more than 60 years of male dominance in Brussels. ‘‘Since 1958 there have been 183 commissioners. Only 35 were women,’’ she said. ‘‘That is less than 20 per cent.’’
Von der Leyen, 60, is a federalist and supporter of a European army. She grew up in Brussels as the daughter of a high commission official who became a prominent Christian Democrat politician in Germany.
‘‘Long live Europe,’’ she told the parliament after pledging to support proposals to strip national governments of their vetoes over EU defence and foreign policy. ‘‘We must have the courage to take foreign policy decisions by qualified majority. And to stand united behind them.’’
Nigel Farage, leader of Britain’s Brexit Party, described her as a ‘‘fanatic for building a European army. You just made Brexit a lot more popular in the United Kingdom,’’ he said. ‘‘Thank God we’re leaving.’’
She replied that she hoped a future relationship with Britain would remain close after Brexit, ‘‘but I think, Mr Farage, we can probably do without what you have got to say here’’.
Her nomination angered many MEPS because it killed the idea that the post should go to the spitzenkandidat, or lead candidate of the European political party that secured the most seats in EU parliamentary elections.
Promises that von der Leyen made to win over MEPS include a green deal for Europe in the first 100 days in office, with legislation to ensure that the EU is carbonneutral by 2050. The pledge will not be easy to deliver: Similar proposals were blocked by central and east European governments last month. To win over socialist MEPS, she promised legislation requiring all countries to have a minimum wage and the introduction of European unemployment insurance.
Concerns over her leadership will focus on whether she has the political strength to run the EU after making so many concessions to win the vote.
‘‘She will tackle with great vigour the challenges facing us as the European Union,’’ Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said. – The Times