Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, has come under fire for her apparent abandonment of green policies ahead of the European Parliament elections on June 9th. In 2019, Mrs. von der Leyen championed the EU Green Deal as a key strategy for achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and called it the union’s “man-on-the-moon moment.” However, in recent months, her actions have spoken louder than words as she made decisions that went against this green agenda.
In February, Mrs. von der Leyen blocked a draft law aimed at reducing the use of pesticides in farming and relaxed some of the environmental requirements tied to the EU’s common agricultural policy subsidies. Perhaps most concerning was her choice to postpone the publication of a heat-pump action plan that was originally set to be released early in the year, pushing it back to a later unspecified date after the elections.
These actions by Mrs. von der Leyen have raised doubts about her commitment to the EU Green Deal and have left many questioning the direction of the EU’s environmental policies in the future. It remains to be seen how she will approach these issues once reappointed as head of the European Commission.