Top jobs: Newly appointed EU leadership has yet to prove green credentials

After marathon negotiations, European leaders have decided on Ursula von der Leyen (DE) as candidate for the President of the European Commission - a German national with no track record on climate, environment and sustainability. Other top jobs included the European Council and European Central Bank presidencies. 

“Any European Commission President should be elected by the European Parliament on the basis of a strong agenda, and not the horse-trading that occurred over the past few days. We look forward to hearing from Ursula von der Leyen in the coming weeks whether she will make sustainable development the overarching principle of her presidency. Should she fail to include firm commitments on climate action, nature protection and sustainability in her political guidelines for the coming mandate, the European Parliament must put into question whether she is the right person for the job at this time of environmental and social crisis,” said Ester Asin, Director of the WWF European Policy Office. “Considering that climate and environment were key issues in the election campaign and top of voters’ concerns, it is disappointing that we have ended up with a candidate who could not during public debates present her vision for a sustainable Europe.”

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