BRUSSELS—Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen made her pitch to European lawmakers on July 11 to be the next head of the EU executive, promising to focus on promoting the rule of law, digitalization, competitiveness, with a progressive climate policy at the heart of her program.
The conservative German defense minister has to win over deputies who are annoyed that national leaders last week nominated her over candidates proposed by political groups in the new parliament after May’s EU-wide election.
