BRUSSELS, Belgium: Ursula von der Leyen has navigated back-to-back crises from Covid to the Ukraine war as head of the European Commission, and stands on the verge of a no-less tumultuous second term, provided she can lock in support from EU lawmakers.
In giving von der Leyen the nod for five more years, EU leaders on Thursday sent a message about their priorities for the 27-nation bloc — putting security first at a time of marked geopolitical uncertainty.
Top of her in-tray is the war in Ukraine, and how Brussels can keep supporting Kyiv in its fight against Russia’s army even as the West braces for US presidential elections in November that could return Donald Trump to power.
Ahead of June elections that kept her center-right European People’s Party as the biggest force in the European Parliament, von der Leyen pivoted away from climate change to position herself as champion of a hawkish new European security outlook.
On that front, the 65-year-old’s past as a former German defense minister should come in handy, as will relationships developed with powerful leaders and corporate bosses.
More contentious may be how she sees through the European “Green Deal,” a flagship achievement of her first term, given it has turned politically toxic, under fire from farmers, part of her own political family, and voters.
Von der Leyen was a relative unknown outside Germany when she was tapped for the top EU job in 2019, in a surprise deal between Paris and Berlin.
The welcome in Brussels, the city where she was born and lived until her early teens, was cool to say the least. She secured the European Parliament’s backing by just nine votes.
This time around it could be tight again in the parliament, with the EPP needing allies to secure a majority vote backing von der Leyen.
They could come, as before, from the leftist Socialists and Democrats and the centrist Renew groups. Or, controversially, from the far-right European Conservatives and Reformists that include the party of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whom von der Leyen has been courting.
“VDL,” as she is known in EU circles, has her detractors.
During her first term the commission chief worked to expand the bloc’s international role, and also pushed — overstepped, her critics would say — the boundaries of her own job.
She has on occasion infuriated EU leaders, like last October, when while visiting Tel Aviv she backed Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas without insisting that any military response must be bound by international law.
Operating from the 13th floor of Berlaymont, the commission’s hulking headquarters where she also has her sleeping quarters, she relies on a tight-knit coterie of advisers — a practice that rubs many the wrong way, as does her bulldozing, top-down leadership style.
But von der Leyen has indisputably made her mark in Brussels.
“There were a couple of major inflexion points where she managed to do the things that were needed and made herself visible doing them,” one European diplomat said.
When Europe was brought to its knees by the Covid-19 pandemic, von der Leyen steered a groundbreaking 750-billion-euro ($815 million) recovery plan.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, she resolutely supported Kyiv and set to work on reducing Europe’s energy dependency on Moscow.
Beyond the bloc’s borders, she is said to have built a strong relationship with President Joe Biden, providing an answer to the old question attributed to Henry Kissinger: When the US president needs to speak to Europe, who does he call?
Though the mother of seven — and first-ever woman as commission chief — has long championed women’s rights, von der Leyen’s gender has seldom been an issue in office — save for an infamous incident known as Sofagate.
During a visit to Istanbul in April 2021, the commission chief found herself relegated to a sofa during a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Charles Michel, her European Council counterpart, when both men took seats in a pair of armchairs.
The scene went viral, and von der Leyen pulled no punches afterwards, telling lawmakers: “I have to conclude, it happened because I am a woman.”
Tested by crises, von der Leyen poised for hawkish second term
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Tested by crises, von der Leyen poised for hawkish second term
Hungary’s Orban moves to form new EU parliament group
- New alliance will need support from parties from four other countries to be recognized as a group in the EU parliament
“We take on the responsibility to launch this new platform and new faction. I want to make it clear that this is our goal,” Orban told reporters at a joint press conference with Austria’s Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl and Babis, calling for other parties’ support.
The new alliance will need support from parties from four other countries to be recognized as a group in the EU parliament.
Eleven dead in Indian capital after heavy rain, flight operations stutter
- New Delhi, which endured one of its worst heatwaves in history earlier this month, faced the biggest downpour in decades on June 28
- Nearly 60 flights were canceled from New Delhi’s main airport in the last 24 hours, according to flight tracking platform Flightaware
NEW DELHI: The death toll from this week’s sudden heavy rain has climbed to 11 in New Delhi, including four citizens who drowned in submerged underpasses, the Times of India reported, while flight operations stuttered in the Indian capital.
New Delhi, which endured one of its worst heatwaves in history earlier this month, faced the biggest downpour in decades on June 28, with rainfall in a single day surpassing the city’s average for the entire month.
The torrential rain caused a fatal roof collapse at one of the three terminals of Delhi’s main airport, disrupted flights, flooded underpasses, and led to massive traffic jams, power and water outages in parts of the city.
Nearly 60 flights were canceled from New Delhi’s main airport in the last 24 hours, according to data from flight tracking platform Flightaware.
Operations were largely normal on Sunday, with most flights from the affected terminal diverted to the other two, an airport official said but did not rule out possible flight cancelations in the course of the day.
The Delhi airport is one of the country’s biggest and busiest.
Terminal 1, the now-closed terminal, is mostly used by low-cost carriers IndiGo, operated by Interglobe Aviation, and SpiceJet, and currently has a capacity to handle 40 million passengers annually.
An Indigo spokesperson did not comment on the flight cancelations and a SpiceJet spokesperson did not immediately respond to a phone call.
Myanmar central bank denies UN report on weapons transactions
Myanmar’s central bank denied a UN report that the country’s military government can still access money and weapons for its war against anti-coup forces, saying financial institutions under the bank’s supervision followed prescribed procedures.
The Central Bank of Myanmar “expressed our strong objection to the UN Special Rapporteur’s report,” it said in a statement published in a junta newspaper on Saturday. “The UN report severely harms the interests of Myanmar civilians and the relationship between Myanmar and other countries.”
The rapporteur on Myanmar’s human rights, Tom Andrews, reported on Wednesday that while international efforts to isolate the junta appear to have dented its ability to buy military equipment, it still imported $253 million worth of weapons, dual-use technologies, manufacturing equipment and other materials in the 12 months to March.
The report said Myanmar had the help of international banks, including those from Southeast Asian neighbor Thailand, for its purchases.
Facing its biggest challenge since its 2021 coup against Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, Myanmar’s military is caught up in multiple, low-intensity conflicts and grappling to stabilize a crumbling economy.
Western countries have imposed multiple financial sanctions on Myanmar’s military, banks and associated businesses.
The central bank said local and international banks engaged in transactions with Myanmar have undergone comprehensive due diligence measures for all business relationships and transactions.
“The financial transactions are only for the importation of essential goods and basic necessities for Myanmar civilians, such as medicines and medical supplies, agricultural and livestock supplies, fertilizers, edible oil and fuels,” it said.
The UN report said exports from Singapore had plunged to just over $10 million from over $110 million in 2022 but that Thai companies in Thailand partially filled the gap, transferring $120 million worth of weapons and materials in 2023, double from the previous year.
Thailand’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the country’s banking and financial institutions follow protocols like other major financial hubs, adding the government will look into the UN rapporteur’s report.
Greek firefighters tame wildfire on island of Serifos
- Dozens of firefighters with 15 fire engines battled to contain the fire, backed up by a water-carrying helicopter
- The wildfire, which at one point had raged across 15 kilometers, damaged holiday homes and storehouses
ATHENS: Greek firefighters managed to contain on Sunday a wildfire that had raged uncontrolled overnight on the Aegean island of Serifos, damaging houses and prompting the evacuation of several hamlets.
Dozens of firefighters with 15 fire engines battled to contain the fire, backed up by a water-carrying helicopter. It had broken out amid low vegetation on Saturday and spread quickly, fanned by strong winds, the fire brigade said.
The wildfire, which at one point had raged across 15 kilometers, damaged holiday homes and storehouses, the island’s mayor, Kostas Revinthis, told Greek television.
With hot, windy conditions across much of the country, dozens of wildfires broke out on Saturday and authorities advised people to stay away from forested areas.
A wildfire in a mountainous forest area just outside Athens had eased by Sunday morning but some 160 firefighters were still engaged in extinguishing it, officials said.
The strong winds are not expected to abate until later on Sunday, meteorologists said.
Wildfires are common in the Mediterranean country but have become more devastating in recent years as summers have become hotter, drier and windier, which scientists link to the effects of climate change.
After last summer’s deadly forest fires and following its warmest winter on record, Greece developed a new doctrine, which includes deploying an extra fire engine to each new blaze, speeding up air support and clearing forests.
Colombia rebel group agrees to ‘unilateral ceasefire’
- Latest attempt by Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro to end six decades of conflict between the government and rebel groups
CARACAS: A Colombian splinter group of former FARC guerrillas known as Segunda Marquetalia has agreed to a “unilateral ceasefire” and the release of captives following negotiations with the government, according to a joint statement Saturday.
The talks, held this week in the Venezuelan capital Caracas, are the latest attempt by Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro to end six decades of conflict between the government and rebel groups.
As part of the ceasefire deal, Segunda Marquetalia committed to the “delivery of the people they are holding,” according to a document signed by chief government negotiator Armando Novoa and rebel representative Walter Mendoza.
“The full implementation of de-escalation will begin as soon as the presidential decree on offensive military operations comes into force,” said the text seen by AFP, without specifying a date.
A meeting in Tumaco, in western Colombia, will be held between the two parties “no later than July 20” to present the “de-escalation” agreement and to define a timetable for identifying social and economic projects.
The accord follows days of negotiations in Caracas, where seven delegates from each side began talks Monday.
Segunda Marquetalia is a rebel group that broke away from a historic 2016 ceasefire deal with FARC guerillas.
Those present at the Caracas talks include the rebels’ leader known under the alias Ivan Marquez, who was thought to be dead until he reappeared in a video in May.
Marquez — whose real name is Luciano Marin — was the chief FARC negotiator for the 2016 deal, returned to civilian life and was elected a senator, before launching a new rebellion in 2019.
But at the opening of the Caracas talks, he said that he was “fully willing to contribute to the common achievement of peace for Colombia.”
Saturday’s agreement stipulates that the rebel group agreed “not to remain armed or in uniform” in urban centers or “land and river routes.”
It also asserts that the ceasefire does not restrict the national security forces’ “constitutional and legal powers.”
Colombia’s leadership has faced multiple obstacles in their efforts to end the conflict between the country’s security forces, guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug gangs.
The government and Segunda Marquetalia announced in February plans to hold peace talks.
The rebel group is considered second in importance only to the main FARC dissident group, the EMC, with Segunda Marquetalia having around 1,600 members according to military intelligence.
Talks between the government and the EMC began in October 2023 but they have been plagued by ceasefire violations and a major split in the group in April, which saw half of its fighters abandon peace negotiations.
The Colombian government has been involved since 2022 in stop-start talks with the Marxist National Liberation Army (ELN) — responsible for the kidnapping last October of the father of a Liverpool footballer, Luis Diaz.
