Are pay-by-the-minute booths the future of work? Both have turned to suppliers of Russian and Chinese vaccines to supplement supplies from Western pharmaceutical companies. Myanmar ambassador to UK 'locked out' of embassy. In recent years, a litany of stories have exposed inadequacies in Germany's armed forces, from inoperable submarines and aircraft to shortages of personnel. VideoCovid-19: The disinformation tactics used by China, Call My Agent star joins plea to reopen French theatres, 'I can't change my gender unless I'm sterilised' Video'I can't change my gender unless I'm sterilised', ‘Please don’t lend Kenya more money’. Mrs von der Leyen said it was right for the EU to have acted together, not in competition. She also acknowledged the EU had been overconfident about production targets being met amid delays at factories. She has now acknowledged failings and admitting underestimating the difficulties of mass production. Later in Germany she met Heiko von der Leyen, a doctor, at medical school and they got married in 1986. A report published in 2018 highlighted the shortfalls. A report published in 2018 highlighted the shortfalls, saying they were "dramatically" hindering Germany's readiness for combat. Her responsibilities include proposing new EU laws, enforcing the bloc's rules and handling trade deals. The Commission president said she "deeply" regretted a threat made by the EU last month to restrict the flow of vaccines passing between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Kyaw Zwar Minn spends the night in his car after saying the military attaché "occupied" the embassy. "In economic terms it would have been nonsense and it would have been I think the end of our community.". She was not especially popular in her previous role among Germany's armed forces, and only emerged from the shadows as a candidate for Commission chief when initial compromise deals collapsed. European integration She was not the first choice for the EU's most powerful job. As defence minister in the EU's most industrialised and populous country, she argued for Germany to boost its military involvement in Nato. He told BBC … Covid-19: The disinformation tactics used by China. It said that no submarines or large transport planes were available for deployment at the end of 2017. Mrs von der Leyen replaced Jean-Claude Juncker in the EU's top job on 1 December 2019 and part of her role is overseeing Brexit. But this was not by any means a straightforward apology. He came from a privileged family of merchants. Her family nickname had been Röschen - "little rose". Her decision to sleep in a bedsit adjoining her office at the Commission HQ rather than making a home in Brussels has also raised eyebrows. ", Industry 'must step up' on Covid-19 vaccines, Vaccine tensions stoke German criticism of EU chief, The differences between the Covid vaccines explained, EU 'fiasco' on NI heaps pressure on Commission. With her parents and five siblings she moved to Germany aged 13. "Not everything was perfect in the last weeks and the last months," said Manfred Weber, the chairman of the centre-right EPP group of MEPs. In London she went by the name Rose Ladson - at the time German politicians were being targeted by Red Army Faction leftist militants. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen insisted that pharmaceutical companies had to “honour their contract” to the EU, but Brussels … © 2021 BBC. Kardashian tries to get photo wiped off the web1, 'Strong' evidence found for a new force of nature2, Myanmar ambassador to UK 'locked out' of embassy3, Navalny 'losing sensation in legs and hands'4, Jabs 'breaking link' between UK cases and deaths5, Beijing now has more billionaires than any city6, PM 'deeply concerned' about Belfast violence7, Are pay-by-the-minute booths the future of work?8, A shrinking river sparks a fight for water access9, Hong Kong citizens given 'support' to come to UK10. However, Mrs von der Leyen maintained that a joint EU response had been the correct decision in dealing with the pandemic: "I can't even imagine if a few big players had rushed to it and the others went empty-handed. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Are pay-by-the-minute booths the future of work? VideoCovid-19: The disinformation tactics used by China, Call My Agent star joins plea to reopen French theatres, 'I can't change my gender unless I'm sterilised' Video'I can't change my gender unless I'm sterilised', ‘Please don’t lend Kenya more money’. How do you weigh up the risks of the AZ vaccine? She later admitted that a number of errors were made in allocating contracts and that new measures were being implemented to prevent it happening again. The Commission chief has come under fire for the EU's slow vaccine rollout. She also noted that questions would have to be answered about what went wrong. Last week, she told German paper Süddeutsche Zeitung that "a country on its own can be a speedboat, the EU is more like a tanker". The BBC's Katya Adler exposed the growing split within Brussels, claiming that Ursula von der Leyen was "under mounting pressure". She told Germany's Die Zeit daily that "London was for me then the epitome of modernity: freedom, the joy of life, trying everything". Covid-19: The disinformation tactics used by China. But Mrs von der Leyen was adamant that ordering vaccines collectively on behalf of member states was "the right thing to do". Addressing Mrs von der Leyen directly, left-wing French MEP Manon Aubry asked: "How could the European Commission accept to just lie down when dealing with the pharma companies?". She enjoyed partying and rock concerts. In December 2019, German MPs accused the defence ministry of deliberately deleting key data from her office mobile phone in an attempt to obstruct their investigation. "We were late to authorise. India ignores Covid surge to hold IPL cricket tournament, Covid-19: The disinformation tactics used by China. Mrs von der Leyen's father Ernst Albrecht was a senior Commission official in Brussels in the 1950s, before entering German domestic politics - he … But there was support for the EU's response, too. Video, Covid-19: The disinformation tactics used by China, 'I can't change my gender unless I'm sterilised' Video, 'I can't change my gender unless I'm sterilised', Kardashian tries to get photo wiped off the web, 'Strong' evidence found for a new force of nature, Beijing now has more billionaires than any city, PM 'deeply concerned' about Belfast violence, Hong Kong citizens given 'support' to come to UK. Navalny 'losing sensation in legs and hands', Jabs 'breaking link' between UK cases and deaths, A shrinking river sparks a fight for water access. On Sunday, Ms von der Leyen hailed a … Her defence department was accused of awarding questionable private contracts to consultants that were said to be worth millions of euros. Navalny 'losing sensation in legs and hands', Jabs 'breaking link' between UK cases and deaths, A shrinking river sparks a fight for water access. She said her father always told his children that when countries traded, they built friendships and did not shoot each other. Brexit will be 'new beginnings for old friends', MEPs return: Four things to watch out for. She has warned that ending 2020 without a trade deal with the UK would be "a cliff-edge situation", which "would clearly harm our interests", but would "impact more the UK than us". How Serbia soared ahead in Covid vaccinations, This was Mrs von der Leyen's first public acceptance of criticism. Family life was comfortable, on a farm near Hanover - Ursula came to love horse-riding - and the children performed in home plays and concerts, sometimes in front of politicians. Speaking to BBC … Right-wing Danish MEP Peter Kofod complained that the EU was "treading water" while other countries such as the UK, US and Israel made big strides in vaccinating their populations. There is anger that the bloc has fallen behind countries like the UK, where more than 12 million people have already received the jab. The European Commission president Ms von der Leyen said the bloc can “forbid” vaccines made on the continent from being exported to the UK. Read about our approach to external linking. Brussels born and bred, she is a former German defence minister, a long-term ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the first woman to head the EU's powerful executive. "We are not ready to put into question the integrity of our Single Market - the main safeguard for European prosperity and wealth," she said. Spanish centre-right Euro MP Esteban González Pons said if it had not been for the Commission's decision to centralise the purchase of vaccines, his country and others would not have received their consignments "because of a lack of political clout and budget". "The key decisions were right. Jean-Claude Juncker attacks Ursula von der Leyen for 'stupid' vaccines trade war with UK Former European Commission president attacked EU vaccination strategy as … 8 października 1958 w Brukseli) – niemiecka polityk, działaczka Unii Chrześcijańsko-Demokratycznej (CDU), posłanka do Bundestagu, w latach 2005–2009 minister ds. The EU was late to authorise Covid-19 vaccines and "still not where we want to be", European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said. Kardashian tries to get photo wiped off the web1, 'Strong' evidence found for a new force of nature2, Myanmar ambassador to UK 'locked out' of embassy3, Navalny 'losing sensation in legs and hands'4, Jabs 'breaking link' between UK cases and deaths5, Beijing now has more billionaires than any city6, PM 'deeply concerned' about Belfast violence7, Are pay-by-the-minute booths the future of work?8, A shrinking river sparks a fight for water access9, Hong Kong citizens given 'support' to come to UK10. Ursula von der Leyen faced calls to immediately resign this week as MEPs turned on Brussels' chaotic leadership. What's the problem with the EU's vaccine programme? The episode is damaging for Mrs von der Leyen, a medical doctor with a masters in public health, who has staked much of her presidency on orchestrating a successful vaccine rollout. Last week, she told German paper Süddeutsche Zeitung that "a country on its own can be a speedboat, the EU is more like a tanker". While her appointment was initially seen as a fresh start for a German ministry beset by problems, Mrs von der Leyen was questioned as part of an investigation into spending irregularities. "But in the end we got it right and I can reassure you that my Commission will do its utmost to protect the peace in Northern Ireland. That period of her career has not gone away. The EU's vaccination programme has become an important political test for the European Commission, which took over responsibility for the rollout from individual member states. Now 62, Mrs von der Leyen is the mother of seven children, highly unusual in a country where the average birth rate is 1.59 children per woman. This was Mrs von der Leyen's first public acceptance of criticism. She is seen as a staunch integrationist, backing closer military co-operation in the EU and highlighting the "potential Europe has to unify and to promote peace". Her appointment as German defence minister in 2013 was unexpected and followed three months of coalition talks between the CDU and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD). Fluent in English and French, she has been a member of the CDU since 2005. Video, Covid-19: The disinformation tactics used by China, 'I can't change my gender unless I'm sterilised' Video, 'I can't change my gender unless I'm sterilised', Kardashian tries to get photo wiped off the web, 'Strong' evidence found for a new force of nature, Beijing now has more billionaires than any city, PM 'deeply concerned' about Belfast violence, Hong Kong citizens given 'support' to come to UK, Her decision to sleep in a bedsit adjoining her office at the Commission HQ, Within days of taking office she promised a "European Green Deal", potential Europe has to unify and to promote peace. Kyaw Zwar Minn spends the night in his car after saying the military attaché "occupied" the embassy. Mrs von der Leyen has a reputation as a workaholic. Mrs von der Leyen's father Ernst Albrecht was a senior Commission official in Brussels in the 1950s, before entering German domestic politics - he was in the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), today led by Chancellor Merkel. "For me, it's like coming home," said Ursula von der Leyen of her new job as president of the European Commission. © 2021 BBC. She set out her values both before and after assuming office: Ursula von der Leyen was born in Brussels in 1958, and attended the European School - a multilingual elite school for the children of diplomats and EU bureaucrats. She also defended the time taken to approve vaccines, which she described as "an essential investment to establish confidence and security". The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. This was Mrs von der Leyen's first public acceptance of criticism. India ignores Covid surge to hold IPL cricket tournament, Covid-19: The disinformation tactics used by China. We were too optimistic when it came to massive production," the Commission president told the European Parliament, "and perhaps too confident that what we ordered would actually be delivered on time." Producers of vaccines including the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech jabs have postponed delivery of some of the EU's order because of capacity and supply issues. However, her tenure in the defence post was not without incident. Who is EU's powerful head Ursula von der Leyen? Later she studied economics at London's LSE and medicine in Hanover before going into politics. He became premier of the state of Lower Saxony in 1976. How do you weigh up the risks of the AZ vaccine? Eventually she was nominated by EU member states and then backed by the European Parliament, after a political stalemate over other contenders. What are the clear trends from EU elections? Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen i z domu Albrecht (ur. Von der Leyen said AstraZeneca had delivered only 30 percent of the 90 million vaccine doses it had promised for the first quarter of the year. Ursula von der Leyen today issued a grovelling apology for the EU's vaccine shambles, admitting the bloc acted 'late' and was 'over-confident'. The experiences of Serbia, which is not an EU member state, and Hungary, which is, point to a possible solution to vaccine shortages in Europe. Read about our approach to external linking. It has also become a critical test of the personal standing of Ursula von der Leyen. ", By Kevin Connolly, Europe correspondent, Brussels. Read about our approach to external linking. Her mother had a university doctorate and academic success was much encouraged, journalist Ben Judah has written in a study of Ursula von der Leyen. A few years later, in the 1970s, Boris Johnson attended the European School, as his father was an official in the then European Economic Community (EEC). Myanmar ambassador to UK 'locked out' of embassy. Von der Leyen responded to Donald Trump's criticism of the Russian-backed Nord Stream 2—a pipeline for delivering natural gas from Russia to Germany—in an interview with the BBC: "We have an independent energy supply, we are an independent country, we are just diversifying." Meanwhile pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca has said it will join forces with German company IDT Biologika to produce more vaccines for Europe. Read about our approach to external linking. Play video Tier 3 limits 'across a much wider area' of England from BBC Tier 3 limits 'across a much ... in time to get its programme under way in the period mentioned by Von der Leyen.