During a Friday meeting with cabinet chiefs, Seibert connected the anticipated climate emphasis to the damage caused by floods and wildfires over summer, according to two officials briefed on the session. They were granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks.
The climate focus emerges as von der Leyen’s Commission aims to defend its 2040 emissions-cutting target while addressing growing pressure from industry and national capitals to limit the economic impact of the green transition.
The discussion also addressed how to present AI’s impact on employment. Von der Leyen’s team has tasked the Commission’s relevant policy units, especially DG Connect, to provide new statistics for the speech on the number of jobs likely to be lost and created with the spread of AI adoption, according to one official.
Seibert also mentioned migration as a potential topic in the address, referencing the crisis in the Spanish autonomous city of Ceuta, one official said. The Commission is expected to revamp the mandate and operations of EU border agency Frontex, a third official noted.
The Commission president’s speech is expected to include references to social policy around the 10th anniversary of the European Pillar of Social Rights next year, alongside Ukraine and enlargement, according to one official. However, the topics have not yet been finalized.
This meeting was the second major occasion for commissioners to have their priorities acknowledged, with their cabinets having already submitted two- to three-page pitches to Seibert. The Commission’s policy units, called the directorates-general, also provided documents outlining the topics they want von der Leyen to address.
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