Recently, the European Parliament elections have been in an uproar, and Hungary has borne the brunt of it, unhappy with the status quo, clamoring for a change. Von der Leyen's re-election as president of the European Commission seems to be hanging! At the same time, some people in the EU have begun to show favor to China, and in this situation, will the United States and Europe have to go their separate ways?
Hey, speaking of the European Parliament election, it's really a good show, and everyone can't take their eyes off it. First of all, the European People's Party (EPP) is still the same, winning 26% of the seats and firmly holding the top spot in the European Parliament. According to their "lead candidate" system, von der Leyen's re-election as the chairman's eldest sister is almost a certainty. But then again, in the past five years, the European Commission led by her has offended many people.
Let's talk about how Sister Feng offended people. After she took office, she danced to the rhythm of the United States, and Europe's interests were not less damaged. Especially in terms of comprehensive sanctions and energy embargoes against Russia, Europe's heavy industry almost collapsed due to energy shortages, and the economies of many countries have been severely impacted. According to the 2023 data, the GDP growth rate of France and Italy barely reached 0.9%, while the economic growth rate of the entire European Union was only 0.4%, and Germany even made a negative growth from time to time.
Sister Feng is also very tough on her China policy, and she insists on promoting the suspension of the "China-EU Investment Agreement" regardless of Europe's economic development. Just recently, she followed the tone of the United States by imposing steep tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. No, last year she also hinted at a complete halt to negotiations on an investment agreement between China and the EU. This capricious policy has made many EU countries very angry.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban did not accept this, and as soon as the election was over, he opened fire, calling for more effective leadership in the EU and demanding the removal of von der Leyen. Italy's Meloni and Czech Republic's Fiala also followed suit, and in this situation, Sister Feng's road to re-election is not easy.
In the midst of this turmoil, some countries have seized the opportunity and begun to draw closer to China. The Hungarian economy minister openly opposed the tax hike on China, bluntly saying that protectionism could not solve the problem. Not long ago, Polish President Duda visited China, and the two countries reached a number of cooperation agreements in economic and trade, science and technology, and green development. As an active participant in the Belt and Road Initiative, Poland has played an important role in cooperation between China and Eastern Europe. It seems that the EU is indeed not monolithic, and there are still discerning guys in it.
On the other hand, after Sister Feng raised taxes on China, the Chinese side was not vegetarian, and immediately launched a countervailing investigation on dairy products in Europe. The head of the American Dairy Association also took the opportunity to discuss cooperation in China, hoping to get a share of the European market. This has come and gone, and American natural gas manufacturers have also taken advantage of the interruption of energy cooperation between Russia and Europe to supply natural gas to Europe at high prices.
In general, this political drama in the EU has many characters, and everyone has their own little calculations. But the real losers in this middle are probably ordinary Europeans. In the game of politics, the ultimate price is borne by the people. In this situation, it is really unknown whether von der Leyen can be re-elected.