International

EU Leaders Reappoint von der Leyen, Select Costa and Kallas

EU leaders have chosen Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as President of the European Commission, six European diplomats told POLITICO.

During a meeting in Brussels, national leaders also selected the Portuguese António Costa and the Estonian Kaja Kallas for top positions at the European Council and the EU's foreign policy service, respectively.

The decision to appoint three experienced politicians to leading EU positions was apparently a safe bet by the leaders to maintain their centrist coalition's power, given the hard right's stronger showing in France, Germany, and other parts of the EU in the European elections.

The approval of their candidacies required the support of a so-called reinforced qualified majority. This is achieved by simultaneously meeting two conditions: at least 20 of the 27 member states (72%) representing at least 65% of the EU population must vote in favour of the proposal.

Intrigue persisted until the end of the first day of the summit, as the sensitive topic of choosing the leaders was pushed to the end of the agenda, after discussions on the war in Ukraine, EU defence and security, and the conflict in the Middle East.

"I am honoured to be nominated as a candidate for the position of High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Your trust means a lot. We must continue to work together to ensure that Europe is an effective global partner, keeping our citizens free, safe, and prosperous," wrote Estonia's Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas.

Before this, it was revealed in Brussels that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was dissatisfied with not being involved in the nomination process. Theoretically, she could have voted against von der Leyen, Costa, and Kallas, whose candidiasis were bundled into a single vote. According to Corriere della Sera, she intended to have a separate vote for each candidate and to vote for von der Leyen, but not for the others.

Next step: the vote in the European Parliament

The future leaders still have one more obstacle to overcome: the new European Parliament must approve their candidacies and those of the new European commissioners. Von der Leyen expects to be supported by the majority of deputies from the largest political bloc in the EU, the European People's Party, which has 190 seats in the new 720-seat parliament. However, she will need the support of other parties and the votes of just over half of the European deputies to secure a majority.

Translation by Iurie Tataru

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