(Brussels) “In ten days from now, the European Commission will present the European Green Deal. Our goal is to be the first climate neutral continent by 2050. If we want to achieve that goal, we have to act now, we have to implement our policies now. Because we know that this transition needs a generational change”. The president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, spoke this morning at the opening session of the United Nations Climate Conference (COP25) in Madrid.

Today is the second day in office for Von der Leyen (the picture to the side is the Commission’s headquarters in Brussels). Yesterday, when she took office, Ursula von der Leyen attended a ceremony at the House of European History in Brussels to mark the tenth anniversary of the Lisbon Treaty (picture above). On that occasion, she symbolically received the Treaties from the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli. At the ceremony on Sunday, President von der Leyen stated: “There could be no better day for the new College of Commissioners to begin our work. Starting today, we are the guardians of the Treaties, the custodians of the Lisbon spirit… The House of European History shows the road that has led us here. It shows the treasure that we have inherited. A continent in peace. A single market with unprecedented economic opportunities. Greater rights and liberties than in any other place in the world”. The event was also attended by the new presidents of the ECB, Christine Lagarde, and of the European Council, Charles Michel.