Politico: EC head von der Leyen accused of abuse of power

EU diplomats have accused the head of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, of abuse of power over her trip to Israel on October 14. About it reported Politico newspaper.

“In private conversations in Brussels, diplomats, legislators and European Commission staff complain that von der Leyen is going beyond her job description, stripping EU governments of decision-making power and governing with a small team of advisers. The criticism came to a head last weekend when she made an unscheduled trip to Israel, prompting a furious response from European diplomats.

According to the publication, discontent was caused, among other things, by the fact that von der Leyen did not convey to Israel the EC’s calls to comply with international law in the Gaza Strip, but only expressed solidarity with the people who died as a result of the actions of the Palestinian group Hamas.

After this situation, the head of the EU foreign policy service, Josep Borrell, recalled that the official position of the EU on foreign policy issues is determined by the leaders of the 27 EU countries at summits and discussed with foreign ministers. However, this is not the only such situation. According to Politico’s interlocutors, von der Leyen often does not consult with the 27 members of the EC, but makes decisions independently.

All this could jeopardize von der Leyen’s re-election as head of the European Commission for a second five-year term, Politico writes. The next elections for this position will be held in June next year. Von der Leyen herself has not yet announced plans to run for another term.

On October 7, the Palestinian group Hamas began military operations against Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded by launching Operation Iron Swords, and the Israeli government announced that the country had entered a state of war. On October 10, the Council of the European Union called for the opening of humanitarian corridors in the Gaza Strip for the evacuation of the population to Egypt. According to the latest data, the death toll during the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has exceeded 4,000 people, more than half of them are Palestinians.