On 18 July, Ursula von der Leyen was confirmed to continue as European Commission President. 

Before passing a vote by MEPs, in a document and a speech to the first plenary session of the tenth European Parliament in Strasbourg, Ursula von der Leyen presented political guidelines that would guide her second term as a bid to be re-elected as President of the European Commission.

The "Political Guidelines 2024-2029" included a diverse range of priorities including defence and security, investment and prosperity, housing and equality, deregulation and small-medium sized enterprises (SMEs), and agriculture and nature.

A few highlights may be listed as follows:

• Making business easier, a new approach to competition policy, each Commissioner will be tasked with focusing on reducing administrative burdens and simplifying implementation: less red tape and reporting, more trust, better enforcement, faster permitting. To help that we get the Vice-President for Implementation, Simplification and Interinstitutional Relations - the exact description of what we asked as a VP for the industrial deal.

• A new Clean Industrial Deal for competitive industries and quality jobs in the first 100 days of the mandate. The full focus will be on supporting and creating the right conditions for companies to reach our common goals. This means simplifying, investing and ensuring access to cheap, sustainable and secure energy supplies and raw materials.

• The new Circular Economy Act, helping to create market demand for secondary materials and a single market for waste, notably in relation to critical raw materials. And a new chemicals industry package, aiming to simplify REACH and provide clarity on “forever chemicals”, or PFAS.

• A new European Competitiveness Fund as part of the proposal for a new and reinforced budget in the next multiannual financial framework. Looking ahead, the Clean Industrial Deal must enable to invest more together in clean and strategic technologies and in energy intensive industries. The future of the clean and cutting-edge tech industry must be made in Europe.

• a Quality Jobs Roadmap, developed together with the social partners. It will support fair wages, good working conditions, training and fair job transitions for workers and self-employed people, notably by increasing collective bargaining coverage.

You may access the full document here.