STRASBOURG, France, July 16 -- Germany's Ursula von der Leyen was elected to be the next president of the European Commission on Tuesday with a slim majority.
She made history as the first female chief executive of the European Union. The slim majority also helped avert a political crisis for the world's largest trading bloc.
The European Parliament currently comprises 747 lawmakers, so the threshold needed to be elected was 374 votes, more than half of its component members.
Of the 733 votes casted by members of the European Parliament on Tuesday evening, she won 383 votes, only 9 votes more than the necessary 374-vote majority. Had her nomination - without objection from any of the 28 EU member state governments - been shot down, Brussels would be deep in uncharted political waters.
Instead, the mother-of-seven and Germany's first female defense minister - who said ahead the vote she would resign her office - thanked lawmakers with a smile and said "The task ahead of us humbles me. It's a big responsibility and my work starts now."
Her election was preceded by good news on Tuesday as a barrage of politicians, including senior EU lawmakers, threw their support behind her in Strasbourg. But the vote in the seat of the EU legislature was a secret ballot, potentially enabling lawmakers to break from official lines.
Von der Leyen was born and grew up in Brussels, Belgium, where her father once served as a senior officer in the EU. She will, upon taking office in November, oversee the EU's executive branch of around 32,000 staff in her birth place and represent the 500-million strong economy in the world.
A trained gynaecologist, she was fluent in English, French and German and she made a point of that by speaking the three languages in one speech on Tuesday morning to EU lawmakers, in a last bid to win their support.
GENDER EQUALITY
Von der Leyen's election marks a milestone for women in EU politics, and she promised in the speech she would lead by example in gender equality: "I will ensure full gender equality in my College of Commissioners. If Member States do not propose enough female Commissioners, I will not hesitate to ask for new names."
Each of the 28 EU member states is entitled to one European Commissioner, responsible for a specific portfolio.
"Since 1958 there have been 183 Commissioners. Only 35 were women. That is less than 20 percent. We represent half of our population. We want our fair share," Von der Leyen said.
COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE
Von der Leyen also highlighted the combat against climate change in her Tuesday morning speech, saying "I want Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent in the world by 2050" and vowing to "put forward the first ever European Climate Law which will set the 2050 target into law."
She will put forward a Green Deal for Europe in her first 100 days in office, Von der Leyen said.
She also promised leadership from the EU to lead international negotiations to increase the level of ambition of other major economies by 2021.
But her seemingly ambitious words failed to woo the Greens in the European Parliament, who said after her speech that they would not vote for her as von der Leyen's promise didn't meet their expectations.
TAX ON TECH GIANTS
Von der Leyen also sent thinly-veiled warnings to tech giants in Europe, asking them to "share the burden" of taxation.
"When the tech giants are making huge profits in Europe, this is fine because we are an open market and we like competition," she said, adding that "it is not acceptable that they make profits, but they are barely paying any taxes because they play our tax system."
A EU-wide tax scheme on tech giants, mostly companies headquartered in the United States, have stalled because of resistance from member states such as Ireland, but latest tax laws from France have recently reignited the debate and stoked threats of retaliation from Washington.
北京市实验二小2013年幼升小面试题
北京市东城八学区2014幼升小学区及学校分析
谈谈2014幼升小跨区择校的“门道”
北京市二里沟小学2013年幼升小面试题
家长课堂:五招让孩子保持好奇心
英语启蒙:先练发音、慢练胆子
北京市育民小学2013年幼升小面试题
名师指导:孩子的注意力不集中怎么办?
揭秘2014年西城区幼升小政改方案
学前儿童英语学习注意事项
如何根据孩子的年龄兴趣挑选英文绘本
北京市教委2014年教育工作要点发布
家长分享:我教儿子学习英语的经验总结
专家支招幼升小学生开学良方
学前英语:听力大于阅读 悦读大于阅读
北京市黄根城小学2013年幼升小面试题
学前英语学习需要注意的几点
家长如何安排孩子的原版书学习进度
北京市培新小学2013年幼升小面试真题
人大附中朝阳学校小学部2014原服务范围生源统记公告
北京市双榆树中心小学2013年幼升小面试题
专家建议:孩子学英语最好在六岁前
学前英语家长该注意九大问题
少儿学英语真正的门槛在哪里?
学前儿童四大优势 更适合学习外语
论坛热帖:我教3岁女儿学习英语的经验
2014丰台二中新教育实验小学幼升小调查统计
北京市复外一小2013年幼升小面试题
北京西城小升初第七片区电脑派位调整 幼升小不变
北京市七宝外国语小学2013年幼升小面试题
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |