Ursula von der Leyen will announce her plans to seek a second term as president of the European Commission at a meeting of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in Berlin on Monday.
Ms von der Leyen, 65, the head of Brussels’ most powerful institution, has spent the past year carefully guarding her intentions and deflecting all questions on the matter.
But announcing her candidacy for another five years is the first step in a four-month campaign that could involve a broader field. Some speculate that Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kalas could take the job in the summer. The final selection is made.
After being elected by the CDU, she will need the support of two other parties within the European People’s Party (EPP), a center-right group in the European Parliament that also includes the ruling parties of Greece, Ireland, Lithuania and Sweden.
She then has to win votes at the March EPP congress in Bucharest, before hitting the final hurdle in June when the horse-trading for the top job begins in earnest in Brussels. encounter.
under Spitzenkandidaten According to this process, the selection of the European Commission President is linked to the results of the European Parliament elections scheduled for June 6-9.
But what happens in June will depend on the percentage of votes the EPP commands after the election. In 2019, the EPP won a majority of seats and could have expected its candidate, Manfred Weber, to be appointed to the position. However, the Socialist Party, which came in second place, was unable to gather cross-party support and endorsed another high-profile candidate, Frans Timmermans.
This split created space for von der Leyen, an unexpected candidate from the German government. “Remember, in 2019, no one had heard of her, but she went from being Germany’s defense minister to the most powerful job in Brussels in a matter of weeks.” she said, recalling how she didn’t even campaign for the job.
The post-election curve-up will likely focus more attention on other top jobs.
Josep Borrell’s current role as chief diplomat is similar to that of the president of the European Council, where he fosters relations between prime ministers and negotiates positions, as well as during the recent funding dispute with Hungary. They are asked to play a role in difficult situations. Ukraine.
After the June elections, these positions are likely to be split between two other large political groups, currently Socialism and Democracy (S&D) and the liberal parliamentary group Renew.
