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Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB), Ursula von der Leyen President of the Commission, Charles Michel President of the European Council, David Sassoli President of the European Parliament, pose with the Treaty of Lisbon, Brussels, 1 December 2019. REUTERS / Johanna Geron

The German Ursula von der Leyen and the Belgian Charles Michel took Sunday in Brussels the orders of the European Union and promised to take up the challenge of climate change. She announced that for her first non-EU trip, she chose to travel to Ethiopia.

The new presidents of the main European institutions - the new President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyne, Commission President Charles Michel, Parliament President David Sassoli and the President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde - met for a visit symbolic: that of the House of Contemporary History, reports our correspondent in Brussels, Laxmi Lota .

A brief ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the Lisbon Treaty, which has modified the institutional architecture of the Union, in particular with the creation of a President of the European Council. " We are the guardians of the treaties and the guardians of the Lisbon spirit. It is a responsibility to Europeans and our founding fathers and mothers , "said Ursula von der Leyen.

"We are the guardians of the Treaties and the custodians of the Lisbon spirit.
President @vonderleyen marks the 10th anniversary of the Treaty of Lisbon @ HistoriaEuropa # vdLCommission pic.twitter.com/7mfWcatq9f

European Commission 🇪🇺 (@EU_Commission) 1 December 2019

For the new leader of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, you have to get down to work. " It is also a responsibility to our children, the responsibility to leave Europe stronger than the one we inherited. The Union is something we all need to build, brick by brick, day after day, "said the new Commission President.

The President of the European Parliament, Davi Sassoli, said he wanted a more concrete Europe.

" President of the Commission is not an easy task ," warned his predecessor, Jean-Claude Juncker, even saying: "I am happy to leave! ". But Ursula von der Leyen, who was the first woman defense minister in her country, is ready to take up the challenge.

The New Green Deal, a priority project

Ursula von der Leyen has made the "New Green Deal" one of the priority projects in her five-year term. The objective is the EU's carbon neutrality by 2050 and the raising of greenhouse gas reduction targets to -50% or even -55% by 2030 compared to the 1990 level.

Ursula von der Leyen will travel to Madrid on Monday to participate in COP25. " This will be a spotlight on what we do. But Madrid will be the starting point of the European Green Deal, "she said during a meeting with representatives of news agencies in Brussels. She said she was convinced that Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, who were still reluctant to this long-term goal, could join the cause. His proposals for combating climate change will be presented on 11 December at a special session of Parliament on the eve of a European Council, said David Sassoli.

Von der Leyen in Ethiopia on his first trip outside the EU

For her first trip outside the EU, Ursula von der Leyen chose Ethiopia to meet Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy Ahmed and African Union representative Moussa Faki.

" I decided to make my first trip outside of the European Union to Africa and I will travel to Addis Ababa on Friday to meet Mr. Moussa Faki, the representative of the African Union, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. and Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy Ahmed and the President of Ethiopia, Mrs. Sahle-Work Zewde, the only woman head of an African country », she announced during an interview Sunday with the representatives news agencies in Brussels.