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The incoming president of the European Union’s executive arm vowed to shift the bloc’s focus onto geopolitics over the next five years, pledging sweeping legislative proposals in areas ranging from climate change to artificial intelligence.

“This is an unsettled world where too many powers only speak the language of confrontation and unilateralism,” Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France, in a thinly veiled reference to Donald Trump’s administration. “But it’s also a world where millions of people are taking to the streets to protest against corruption or to demand democratic change.”

The former German defense minister is due to be confirmed by the EU assembly at the helm of the European Commission later on Wednesday. She will be in charge of proposing and enforcing regulation across a vast single market stretching from the Arctic circle to the shores of the Middle East, and negotiating trade deals on behalf of the bloc’s member states.

Von der Leyen reiterated her pledge to unveil a European Green Deal, which will lead the EU toward zero net carbon emissions by mid-century. Any legislative proposals by the commission will be subject to amendments and approval by EU governments and the bloc’s assembly.

Existential Threat

“If there’s one area the world needs our leadership it is on protecting our climate. This is an existential issue for Europe and for the world,” von der Leyen said. “And we do not have a moment to waste any more on fighting climate change.”

In her keynote policy speech, von der Leyen also pledged the following actions:

Make sure that by the end of her term, there’s a perfect gender balance among the senior managers of the commission

Unveil legislation that will help make the EU a leader in digitalization and master key technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum physics

Unveil an EU plan to fight cancer early next year

Act where the market can’t to protect European values

Maintain close ties with the U.K. post-Brexit

“Long live Europe,” von der Leyen said at the end of the speech presenting her team of commissioners, during which she switched between English, French and German.

(Updates with policy commitments in last three paragraphs.)

--With assistance from Alexander Weber.

To contact the reporters on this story: Nikos Chrysoloras in Brussels at nchrysoloras@bloomberg.net;Ian Wishart in Strasbourg, France at iwishart@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Richard Bravo, Ben Sills

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