After all, after three quarters of an hour then comes a question that surprised Ursula von der Leyen. The new Commissioner has already talked about climate policy and the difficult migration issue. It was about male egos like Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron and the question of how their relationship with Angela Merkel changed with her new job. The answers, however, remained so noncommittal that it is hardly worthwhile to reproduce them.
But now asks a journalist from the Leyen to clarify a less state-sponsored matter. Why is the commission head planning not to spend the night in a hotel or an apartment, but in Berlaymont, the mighty seat of the EU Commission? Almost apologetically, the journalist adds: "We do not have such a tradition in Portugal."
Von der Leyen takes a breath, then smiles. In Germany one knows that she slept as Defense Minister in the Bendler block, a seat of the Ministry. In Brussels, however, no Commissioner has yet spent the night in Berlaymont. "It has the advantage that it saves a lot of time," says von der Leyen. "I work around the clock." The three press spokespersons, who keep tapping into their phones and iPads, pause for a moment and swallow.
Ursula von der Leyen is sitting in a sober meeting room in the Strasbourg European Parliament on this Thursday afternoon and is giving her first big interview since the deputies confirmed their commission the day before. In addition to SPIEGEL, journalists from Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, Poland and the Netherlands are also present. With the collection date of the Leyen wants to avoid the impression that they prefer German media. After all, as President of the EU Commission, she is now responsible for 28 member states. On the other hand, it is so easy to see what different expectations Europe's journalists have of them.
For Von der Leyen that's not insignificant. Whether the new head of commission will succeed in her post depends not least on whether she succeeds in finding a common narrative for Europe, a suitable language for 28 EU Member States whose culture and media are extremely diverse.
Already in Germany were communication issues at von der Leyen always bosses thing. Often she forced the CDU to turn the tide by first trying to attract public opinion with the help of the media. So she had the parental allowance success, it was in the debate on the quota of women on supervisory boards. Can this strategy be transferred to Europe, where there is not just one public, but 28?
Questions pounce on von der Leyen, the Belgian journalist wants to know what they intend to do against nationalists and populists. The colleague from France inquired after the recent Franco-German disputes.
Dispute becomes "healthy competition"
Von der Leyen answers carefully. She just does not want to make a mistake, it seems. Thus, the German-French dispute is shrinking to "a healthy competition for the best idea for Europe".
Von der Leyen wants to reconcile Europe's citizens with the EU, that's their project. With a conference on the future of Europe she wants to find out what the citizens in 28 Member States expect from Europe. "The task is to go out and listen," she says. So she wants to find out "which are the most important topics and what we can do".
The fight against climate change is in their opinion such an issue. In the plenary chamber, the delegates are just declaring the climate emergency for Europe, in the meeting room six floors higher explained by the Leyen, how their "Green Deal" Europe's economy could use.
The journalist from Italy raises the question of whether green investments could be excluded in the future in determining budget deficits under the Stability and Growth Pact. No, says the head of the commission. "This is feasible within the framework of the Stability and Growth Pact."
Von der Leyen also formulates power policy goals. She wanted to run a "geopolitical commission" and show citizens that Europe is on par with the US and China. She knows the debates that follow. The question of whether the Chinese telecommunications equipment Huawei 5G networks in Europe may expand.
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The Commission has already gathered information and political views on the matter in the 28 Member States, says the Commission's head. "Towards the end of the year, we will come up with a common approach, not just for Huawei, but more generally on what security standards foreign investors need to have."
It's rather little news that Leyen has to announce this lunchtime, but she's still working on the big story. The journalists are more fascinated by their sleeping place anyway. Whether the Leyen will not feel lonely, at night on the 13th floor of the authorities, the Portuguese woman wants to know.
Von der Leyen waves. In an apartment, she says, "I would be alone too."