Von der Leyen to skip Carney speech in EU Parliament

STRASBOURG — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will not attend Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s address to the European Parliament on Thursday. Carney will speak to lawmakers on Thursday at 11.30 a.m. as he seeks closer ties with the EU amid deteriorating relations with Washington. He is expected to set out his wishlist for Brussels ahead of a Canada-EU summit in October. The address comes a day after he will attend von der Leyen’s annual State of the Union speech. During Carney’s speech, the Commission will instead be represented by Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič — one of von der Leyen’s most trusted lieutenants — the executive’s chief spokesperson Paula Pinho confirmed. The Commission president won’t be in Strasbourg on Thursday as she has to return to Brussels due to “prior commitments,” Pinho said. One of those prior commitments is a press conference on the child online safety initiative. The Commission is represented by one of its 27 members during all Parliament keynote addresses and debates. On Thursdays during Strasbourg sessions, the majority of the College usually returns to Brussels, with a small group of commissioners remaining in France for the final plenary debates.