Politics European Parliament approves second term of office for von der Leyen
Ursula von der Leyen will remain President of the powerful EU Commission for another five years. In the European Parliament, the majority of MEPs voted in favor of the 65-year-old CDU politician, officially confirming her nomination by the heads of state and government of the EU member states. This time, von der Leyen received around 56 percent of the possible votes, significantly more than five years ago. At that time, only 51% of MEPs entitled to vote voted for her.
Von der Leyen now received 401 of the possible 719 votes. She needed at least 360 votes.
The Presidency of the EU Commission is by far the most important position in Brussels. Von der Leyen is responsible for around 32,000 employees who, among other things, make proposals for new EU laws and monitor compliance with the European treaties. The Commission President also sits at the table as the EU representative at almost all major international summits such as the G7 and G20. For this reason, von der Leyen has already been named the "most powerful woman in the world" several times by the US magazine "Forbes".
Announcement on the end of the combustion engine
Shortly before her election, von der Leyen outlined her plans for the next five years in her final candidacy speech to parliament. She announced her intention to soften the EU ban on new combustion-powered cars from 2035 by making exceptions for so-called e-fuels. She also wants to launch initiatives for more affordable housing, a tripling of the number of EU border guards and a European air defense system, among other things
The former Federal Minister of Defense (2013-2019), Labor and Social Affairs (2009-2013) and Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (2005-2009) took office after the 2019 European elections. In Germany, von der Leyen's party colleague Angela Merkel was still Chancellor at the time.
Election victory of center-right alliance paved the way
Ursula von der Leyen's renewed nomination was based on the election victory of her European party family, the EPP, in the European elections. The center-right alliance had subsequently agreed on a kind of informal coalition with the European Social Democrats and Liberals and divided the new top posts among themselves.
The agreement also provides for the liberal Estonian head of government, Kaja Kallas, to be appointed EU foreign affairs commissioner. Former Portuguese head of government António Costa has already been elected president of the body of heads of state and government for an initial period of two and a half years.
Election was a nail-biter until the end
Nevertheless, the confirmation of von der Leyen in parliament was not one hundred percent certain, as there is no parliamentary group constraint and voting was by secret ballot. Von der Leyen therefore held countless talks with MPs over the past few weeks in order to convince them. It is always important for the Parliament to reach the firmest possible agreements on political objectives with the Commission President before his or her election. This is because only the Commission can make legislative proposals at EU level.
Did MPs from Meloni's party also vote for von der Leyen?
It was initially unclear how many MPs from right-wing parties voted for von der Leyen. Before the election, it had been speculated that her party family was also courting votes behind the scenes, for example from MPs from the Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) party of right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. In return, von der Leyen may have offered to give the future Italian representative in the EU Commission an important area of responsibility. In addition, EPP MEPs may have promised not to oppose Commissioner candidates from the parties that supported von der Leyen in the election. The EU countries' candidates for the posts of Commissioner must be confirmed by Parliament. Ideally, the complete EU Commission consisting of von der Leyen and 26 Commissioners should take office in November.
