<gu-island name="KeyEventsCarousel" priority="feature" deferuntil="visible" props="{"keyEvents":[{"id":"662fc5538f08eb7f523850e3","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
The far-right Identity and Democracy’s representative, Anders Vistisen, wrote on social media ahead of the debate:
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“The entire EU system has tried to prevent me and the right wing from participating in the EU top candidate debate tonight. They want to exclude right wing votes! They didn’t succeed – so tonight I will tell the truth about the EU’s disaster course directly to Ursula and the rest of the EU!”
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Hele EU-systemet har prøvet at forhindre mig og højrefløjen i at deltage i EU-spidskandidatdebatten i aften. De vil udelukke højreorienterede stemmer!
Det lykkedes i de ikke med – så i aften vil jeg fortælle sandheden om EU’s katastrofekurs direkte til Ursula og resten af EU!
— Anders Vistisen (@AndersVistisen) April 29, 2024
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Bas Eickhout, the lead candidate for the European Greens, said ahead of this evening’s debate that “we all want to know whether Ursula Von der Leyen is committed to continuing and enforcing the Green Deal.”
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“We need a true deal to ensure European competitiveness vis-à-vis China and the US. We need climate action and to make us independent from fossil fuels coming from autocrats. Or is Von der Leyen prepared to keep Europe dependent on Russian gas?” he added.
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Eickhout also highlighted concerns about alleged links between some far-right politicians and Russia and China.
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“Will the EPP and ALDE defend democracy in the European Union? Or will they collaborate with the far right, as they are increasingly doing at national level? Will Von der Leyen draw a clear red line so that her European People’s Party EPP stops collaborating with the far-right ECR and ID groups?” he said.
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Good evening and welcome to a special edition of the Europe blog, focused on the EU election debate in Maastricht.
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Stay tuned and send your comments to lili.bayer@theguardian.com.
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This year’s debate in Maastricht, ahead of the June European parliament elections, is an unusual one. In theory, the debate is set to “feature Europe’s top candidates for Commission President, representing key party groups,” according to organisers.
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But while there will be eight contenders on stage, eyes will be focused on just one: Ursula von der Leyen, the current European Commission president and lead candidate of the centre-right European People’s party.
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Von der Leyen is widely considered the leading contender to be selected as Commission president (again). And while some other names have been floated, they will not be present in Maastricht, leaving von der Leyen as the only top-level political heavyweight to participate in the debate.
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The other debate participants will be:
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Nicolas Schmit for the Party of European Socialists
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Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party
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Bas Eickhout for the European Green Party
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Anders Vistisen for the Identity and Democracy Party
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Walter Baier for the Party of the European Left
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Maylis Roßberg for the European Free Alliance
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Valeriu Ghilețchi for the European Christian Political Movement
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Key events
Responding to Baier, Ursula von der Leyen said public money is not enough, and private money is also needed for the European Green Deal. The market is asking for green activity, and the capital markets union must be completed, she said.
Walter Baier, for the Party of the European Left, said more funding is needed for the ecological transition.
Nicolas Schmit, for the Party of European Socialists, said there’s a need to reflect on the future of agriculture policy and make farmers actors in the area of implementation of the Green Deal.
Ursula von der Leyen, for the European People’s party, highlighted the EU’s current investments in the Green Deal.
Speaking about Ukraine and farmers, she stressed the need to help Ukrainians. She said farmers are feeling pressure, and what we have to do is make sure there’s a licensing system and that Ukrainian grain goes out to the global south.
We are able to find this balance, she said.
Valeriu Ghilețchi, for the European Christian Political Movement, said his party believes in the single market but also that some competences belong to the member states. We believe in a balanced approach, he said.
Bas Eickhout, for the European Green Party, said that Europe will have a lot of investments it needs to be ready for, and that the Green group is clear on need for a fund for investment in the economy, the transition of the economy, and in the social welfare state.
“Europe needs investments,” he said.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president and centre-right European People’s party candidate, said the European Green Deal was designed as a growth strategy. We can show there’s progress, she said.
“In my view, climate protection, economic competitiveness and social fairness can go hand in hand,” she said.
She said that the whole world is looking into developing green technologies, and for Europe it must be clear that this is the road to go. “This is the economy of the future,” she said, calling for Europe to be bold.
“It is for me, also a question of the competitiveness of the European Union to go clean and to be decarbonised,” von der Leyen said.
Nicolas Schmit, for the Party of European Socialists, said it would be a big mistake to slow down the fight against climate change.
We have to be bold on what we decided, he stressed. Climate policy must be socially fair and just, and that means financing in a fair and just way, he added.
Asked about climate challenges, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe party, said that if nothing changes, there will be war all over the world. She also said work needs to be done with farmers.
The debate is now moving to the issue of climate change.
Maylis Roßberg, for the European Free Alliance, said she realised nothing can be taken for granted, and that it’s time to raise voices for democracy, minorities and the climate. A more democratic and diverse Europe is possible, she added. I believe in a Europe where every voice is heard, she said.
Bas Eickhout, for the European Green Party, garnered cheers from the audience.
The challenges are very clear, he said, stressing the climate emergency has not lost urgency, pointing also to attacks on democracy. We are going to deliver on climate policies, we are going to reduce cost of living, we will not bow to pressure of populists, he told the audience.
Anders Vistisen, for the far-right Identity and Democracy Party, said Brussels is a swamp and that his party would want to start by firing bureaucrats. He criticised von der Leyen directly, telling her she would be the first person fired after the elections.
Ursula von der Leyen, for the European People’s party, said her children are more or less the age of the people in the audience. You were a huge motivation for me, she told the young people watching the debate. Going forward, I want a strong Europe, she said, calling for unity. The election is about democracy, she stressed, telling the young people their vote counts.
Nicolas Schmit, for the Party of European Socialists, said challenges are impacting the daily lives of Europeans and we need to give Europeans the feeling of security. What we owe you, he said, is real security – a good job, a good environment, a good living standard, and to make Europe strong in a world that has become much more dangerous.
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe party, spoke of Russia’s attack on Ukraine and said there’s now a chance to build a Europe that keeps us safe. We must renew Europe now, she said.