Second term in office

Von der Leyen remains head of the EU Commission

Ursula von der Leyen (CDU)

(Bild: AP/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Ursula von der Leyen has been nominated again as EU Commission President (see video above). This was agreed by the major European party families on Tuesday. Parliament must now give its approval.

The CDU politician was the lead candidate of her conservative European People's Party, which won the EU elections. Before taking office as President of the European Commission, von der Leyen was, among other things, Federal Minister of Labor and Social Affairs and German Defense Minister. The Commission presidency is awarded for five years. 

It is considered the most important post to be filled after the European elections. Around 32,000 employees report to her, 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 a representative at international summits.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

(Bild: AP/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Majority required in Parliament
Von der Leyen's nomination at the EU summit is considered fixed, after which she must be elected by a majority in the European Parliament. This vote is scheduled for the third week of July at the earliest and is the highest hurdle on the way to a second term of office. The politician has comparatively many critics in Parliament. In 2019, she received nine more votes than necessary.

One Austrian critic is FPÖ MEP Harald Vilimsky, who described the second term of office in a press release as "a very serious mistake" and von der Leyen's record as "disastrous". NEOS MEP Helmut Brandstätter expressed his reservations. His party's approval would depend, among other things, on what the German politician was in favor of.

Von der Leyen had already announced that she wanted to continue working with the Social Democrats and the Liberals. This three-party alliance would have around 400 out of 720 members of parliament.

More top jobs for Kallas and Costa
The agreement reached on Tuesday also provides for the liberal Estonian head of government Kaja Kallas to become EU foreign affairs representative and the former Portuguese head of government António Costa to become president of the body of heads of state and government. Their terms of office are five (Kallas) and two and a half years (Costa).