European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will seek a second term at the helm of the EU’s most powerful institution
Von der Leyen seeks second term as EU Commission president
The 65-year-old was put forward by her German party Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and will only need a further rubber stamp at the EPP Congress in Bucharest early next month.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz said on Monday in Berlin that his party “unanimously chose Ursula von der Leyen” to stay in her post.
She has led the bloc through multiple crises in the last five years, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the first two years of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The physician and mother of seven has been dubbed the most prominent EU Commission president since Frenchman Jacques Delors during the 1990s.
A second term for Von der Leyen would be subject to approval of the 27 EU member states’ leaders and the European Parliament.
With the right’s rise predicted for the European election in June, approval from parliament could end up being a steep hurdle.
