Shortly before a crucial EU summit, the heads of state and government from major European political families have agreed to nominate Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as President of the European Commission.
This development comes from negotiation circles, as reported by Handelsblatt.
The agreement also includes the appointment of Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
Additionally, former Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa is slated to become President of the European Council for an initial period of two and a half years. Costa, a socialist, will be responsible for preparing EU summits and chairing working meetings. If successful in his role, he may secure a second term, in line with current practices.
Both the President of the European Commission and the High Representative are appointed for one legislative period, approximately five years. The basis for the agreement, which is yet to be formalised at the EU summit on Thursday and Friday, stems from the recent European elections held just over two weeks ago.
The main negotiators for the European People’s Party were Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Representing the Social Democrats were German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The Liberals relied on French President Emmanuel Macron and outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as their chief negotiators.
Following the anticipated nomination of von der Leyen at the EU summit, she will still need to be elected by a majority in the European Parliament. To secure this, the German politician will need to garner the support of MEPs over the coming weeks. The vote is expected to take place no earlier than the third week of July and is considered the most significant hurdle for von der Leyen’s second term.
This is partly because the election will be by secret ballot, and von der Leyen faces a notable number of critics within the European Parliament.
EU leaders previously failed to agree on candidates for the top EU positions at their meeting on 17 June.
Media reports had earlier indicated that the centre-right European People’s Party, which won the European Parliament elections, had additional questions regarding António Costa’s candidacy for President of the European Council.
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From Athens to Brussels: Ursula von der Leyen’s Campaign to Safeguard Europe’s Values
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