EU leaders select Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as President of the European Commission.
At the summit, it was explained that the appointment still needs to be approved by the European Parliament in a secret ballot, which is considered more difficult than gaining the support of EU leaders.
European Union leaders agreed on Friday to nominate German Ursula von der Leyen for a second five-year term as President of the European Commission, the EU’s powerful executive body.
At a summit held in Brussels, the bloc’s 27 national leaders also chose former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa as the future president of European Council meetings and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the next head of EU foreign policy.
This leadership group represents the continuity of the 27-member bloc, where pro-European centrist factions maintain the highest positions despite the rise of the far right in the European Parliament elections held earlier this month.
The trio received broad support from the leaders, but diplomats said right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni abstained from voting on von der Leyen and voted against Costa and Kallas.
Von der Leyen’s appointment still needs to be approved by the European Parliament in a secret ballot, which is considered more challenging than securing the backing of EU leaders.
At the summit, the EU also signed a security agreement with Ukraine, discussed how to strengthen the EU’s defenses against Russia, and agreed on the bloc’s strategic priorities for the next five years. The agreement outlines the EU’s commitments to assist Ukraine in nine areas of security policy, including arms supply, military training, defense industry cooperation, and mine clearance.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
See More
Sidebar rates
Add 3442
Related Posts
SaveAdd 3440
Join 350 000+ traders receiving Free Trading Signals
Alerts
Rates
Calendar
Signals