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Ursula von der Leyen (Commission President) and Frans Timmermans (Executive Vice-President) at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 27 November. FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP

On Wednesday 27 November, the President of the European Commission, Germany's Ursula von der Leyen, won the support of Parliament to give Europe a " fresh start " on the occasion of the vote of inauguration of the deputies.

On Wednesday, 27 November, Ursula von des Leyen , the first president of the European executive, has received the approval of 461 MEPs for her team of twenty-six commissioners, after a shaky journey since her appointment in June by the leaders state and government. A total of 157 deputies voted against and 89 abstained. The groups that voted for her or abstained, however, warned her that they were not giving her a " blank check, " as reported by Renew's Liberal leader, Romanian Dacian Ciolos.

A public vote

The vote for the nomination was not secret, favoring discipline within the groups of a strongly renewed, more fragmented parliament that showed teeth at the commissioners' hearings. This new European executive counts a record number of twelve women, against nine in the outgoing Commission of Jean-Claude Juncker.

" My message is simple: let's start working, " said von der Leyen in her speech before the vote. The entry into office of his Commission, scheduled for 1 December, had been delayed by one month. Between re-appointed candidates - three, an unprecedented figure - a Brexit still pending and controversial portfolio titles, the delivery of the team of former Defense Minister Angela Merkel has been laborious.

"Green deal"

Speaking alternately in English, French and German, Ursula von der Leyen has focused on her priorities for the next five years, including the digital and especially the fight against climate change, with the "Green" deal "(" Green Pact ") promised for the beginning of his term.

Some MEPs gave her a standing ovation. But discordant voices were heard. For example, the five French Socialist MEPs had announced that they would abstain. " We do not sign a blank check, " but " we will not go to war either ," said Tuesday French MEP Raphael Glucksmann. They thus joined the position of the Greens, supporters of abstention. The far left (GUE), as well as the far right, have announced a vote against. " You have promised anything and everything to anyone ," criticized Martin Schirdewan of the GUE group (far left), while French MEP RN (far right) Jordan Bardella pointed to a Commission " in the continuity of the previous one ".

Thierry Breton, one of the subjects who is angry

Among the hateful subjects are the appointment as Commissioner for the Enlargement of a Hungarian, seen by his detractors as a support for the anti-EU positions of the government of Viktor Orban, and the French Thierry Breton , outgoing CEO of the digital society Atos, as Commissioner for the Single Market and Digital. " The conflict of interest is inherent to your wallet, " German MEP Ska Keller teased against the latter, adding " can not accept that as Greens ".

The new EU executive will have 26 commissioners plus the president, but no UK representative while the UK is still a member of the EU, leaving on 31 January. London refused to propose a name before the December 12 elections. On this issue, Ursula von der Leyen said that whatever happens " the bond and friendship between our peoples are unbreakable ".

( with AFP )

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