Ursula von der Leyen | Lennart Preiss/Getty Images Greens to reject von der Leyen as Commission president ‘We did not hear any concrete proposal, be it on rule of law or on climate,’ group says after audience with nominee.

Green MEPs will oppose Ursula von der Leyen’s nomination to be the next European Commission president in a vote next week, the group said Wednesday evening.

“We did not hear any concrete proposal, be it on rule of law or on climate,” said the group’s co-president Ska Keller, from the German Greens, following a hearing Wednesday. “We have been elected on a mandate for change and we don't see how change will be possible with this candidate.”

Von der Leyen met Green MEPs for a live-streamed discussion as the German defense minister seeks to convince the European Parliament to back her appointment.

However, the group said the meeting failed to allay concerns that von der Leyen is not strongly committed to action on climate change — an issue she hasn’t prioritized during her long career in German national politics.

“Only a few weeks after the climate elections, she is ignoring the climate emergency and even wants to aim for lower climate targets than previously agreed by the European Parliament,” said Belgian MEP Philippe Lamberts.

Earlier on Wednesday, von der Leyen said during a meeting with MEPs from the Socialists & Democrats group that the EU should boost its 2030 emissions reduction target to 50 percent, up from a current 40 percent goal.

In deciding to oppose the nomination, the Greens also took aim at von der Leyen’s answers on the rule of law — saying she “evaded” questions on the topic. “This is a major shortcoming on one of the main questions that the EU is confronted with,” Keller said.