I congratulate Ursula von der Leyen on her election by the European Parliament. In her speech, she called for a united and strong EU on which we now want to work together. It was important that she made a clear commitment today to the rule of law and to a social and sovereign Europe based on the principle of solidarity. This is the right agenda for the EU, and it will be judged on that.

The world will not wait for Europe. It is therefore essential that we look to the future and further develop the new Commission’s programme swiftly.