In the background of the tense global situation, we need a European Commission that puts the EU in a firm position on the global stage. Strong international partnerships on equal footing are indispensable for a just and sustainable global transformation.

Politico reports:

SOCIALISTS FRET OVER DEVELOPMENT POST: Is the commissioner for global development — known in Brussels-speak as “international partnerships” — about to get the ax? Ursula von der Leyen’s successful pitch last month for another five-year term — backed by Socialists — has left some in Parliament believing that’s the case.

Commission turns inward? Social Democrat MEP Udo Bullmann told Playbook: “Rumors from the EU Commission, [von der Leyen’s] speech itself and the political guidelines make it questionable whether von der Leyen will reinstate a post of a European commissioner for international partnerships in the future.” Bullmann, who penned a letter — seen by Playbook — to the Commission president dated July 25 to express his “concern,” said the lack of any mention by von der Leyen of the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals suggested she wants to “shorten her ambitions from a global commission to a self-centered EU.” Her guidelines did mention the Global Gateway Initiative — the EU’s global infrastructure development project, though.

INTPA is here to stay: “Building mutually beneficial partnerships will be a key part of the work in the next mandate as part of our economic foreign policy,” a Commission spokesperson retorted, adding “we are not going to speculate” on the structure of the next College. “Don’t try fix something that isn’t broken,” suggested another EU official, who floated that the Commission could link the international partnerships portfolio to economic interests or security in the next College.