European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen celebrates Thursday after being re-elected by European Union lawmakers as the head of the executive branch of the 27-country boc for a second term. Photo by Ronald Wittek/EPA-EFE
July 19 (UPI) — The European Parliament voted the centrist Ursula von der Leyen to a second five-year term as European Commission president, the top job in the 27-member-country European Union, just weeks after elections in which anti-EU and far-right parties made big gains.
A plenary session of the 719-member assembly voted 401-284 on Thursday to reappoint the European People’s Party lead candidate, or spitzenkandidat, under new rules linking the choice of commission president to the party that wins the most seats in EP elections.
In a post on X, von der Leyen said she could not “begin to express how grateful I am for the trust of all European Parliament Members that voted for me.”
Speaking at a press briefing, she said the outcome sent a “strong message of confidence” and that it was also recognition of the hard work of her administration in implementing its mandate over the past five years.
“We have spared no effort. We have navigated the most troubled waters that our Union has ever faced. And we have kept the course on our long-term European goals.”
Asked what her message was to the 448 million citizens of the EU, von der Leyen said that the most important thing for Europe was strengthening its democracy.
“Our democracy is under attack from the inside and from the outside and therefore it is crucial that the democratic forces stand together to defend our democracy,” she said.
Von der Leyen will lead the EU’s executive branch, determining policy and political priorities, appoint a cabinet made up of commissioners, each assigned a specific portfolio — subject to confirmation by MEPs — and serve as the EU’s representative on the international stage.
MEPs cast their votes in a secret ballot after a debate in which the 65-year-old former German defense minister set out her priorities, the centerpieces of which were a new clean industrial deal to drive decarbonization and industrial growth and a European competitiveness Fund to boost innovation and an affordable housing plan.
She also focused on defense pledging to strengthen the bloc’s security with a new post of defense commissioner to drive the European Defense Union and calling for a comprehensive aerial defense system — a European Air Shield — to protect EU airspace, arguing it would serve “as a strong symbol of European unity in defense matters”.
In addition, von der Leyen said she would double staff numbers at Europol, the European Police Office, triple the number of European Border and Coast Guards to 30,000 and establish a “European Democracy Shield” to counter foreign information manipulation and interference.
Her re-election came two days after fellow EPP member, Roberta Metsola of Malta, the smallest EU member nation, was re-elected president of the European Parliament.
