Von der Leyen vows to confront “demagogues and extremists” to win support from the European Parliament | El Diario Vasco

Ursula von der Leyen is seeking the support of the European Parliament on Thursday for her second term at the head of the European Commission. The German politician, candidate of the member states and of the main party in the European Parliament – the European People’s Party (EPP) – has promised to fight against “demagogues and extremists” to win the favour of the hemicycle. “I will not sit back and watch our Union break up from outside or from within. I will not let demagogues and extremists destroy our European way of life,” she said, calling for the union of the “democratic forces” of the chamber.

The candidate, who needs the support of 361 MEPs to be re-elected, also referred to the “peace mission” of Hungarian President Viktor Orbán and his trips to Moscow and Beijing. “It is not a peace mission, but one of appeasement,” she criticised. And she recalled that just one day after the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Orbán, Russian missiles fell on a Ukrainian kindergarten. “This was not a mistake, it was a message. Our response must be just as strong: we will stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary,” she promised.

In this process, she stressed that Europe must give Ukraine “everything it needs to resist”, since the freedom of the European Union “is at stake”. The continent must also invest more in security and defence. NATO remains the pillar of collective defence, “but defence spending is too low and ineffective”. For this reason, Von der Leyen has advocated more investment in the European military market, which would contribute to improving European capabilities and the creation of “an anti-aircraft defence shield” at European level.