gotchanewsdaily.com 
A continent-wide European election to name 720 members of the European Parliament consumed Brussels for the first half of 2024. Brussels institutions ground to a halt as Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, campaigned for a second term and awaited approval by said Parliament (she won and was approved). Now, she’s waiting for Parliament to approve her team of 26 commissioners (one from each member country, not including von der Leyen) to lead the EU’s executive arm. Her team is set to finally make it to their desks on Dec. 1, only to be waylaid by the December holidays.
“The least we could have done is to get a new European Commission in place by the time of the U.S. elections,” said the EU diplomat who, like others quoted in the article, was granted anonymity to speak candidly.
While Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has vowed to continue U.S. President Joe Biden’s military, political and economic support to Ukraine, it’s less certain the same can be said if Donald Trump assumes power in November. At recent campaign events, Trump has urged Ukraine to make a deal with Russia to end the invasion, and he has even threatened to stop U.S. aid to Ukraine if reelected.
While the EU is preparing a loan of some €35 billion to Ukraine, Kyiv continues to struggle to find manpower and ammunition to defend itself. Its ravaged power grid, which has been attacked multiple times by Russian drones and missiles, will need to be rebuilt before winter.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin announced a 25 percent increase in defense spending in 2025, taking it to a new post-Soviet high.
And even when the new Commission is in place, the waiting game will continue. Instead of hitting the ground running and going back to policymaking, one of the bloc’s big powers will get in the way.
