EU leaders back Ursula von der Leyen for second term as European Commission president

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

EU LEADERS HAVE backed Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as president of the European Commission.

As part of an agreement struck at a summit in Brussels, former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa was chosen as head of the European Council, while Estonian premier Kaja Kallas was named to be the bloc’s next foreign policy chief.

All three nominees hail from the centrist alliance that dominates the EU parliament following elections earlier this month, despite gains by the far-right including Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, who put up public resistance to the top jobs deal.

Outgoing European Council president Charles Michel confirmed that leaders had proposed von der Leyen for another term in office.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also confirmed the nominees in a statement on X, saying: “Kaja, Ursula and Antonio accepted. Defence plans accepted. Satisfaction. For Poland and for Europe.”

While Costa will automatically succeed Michel later this year, both von der Leyen and Kallas will need to be approved by the European Parliament, starting with a July vote on the commission chief that is predicted to be tight.

The agreement shares out posts between von der Leyen’s centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), Costa’s Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and Kallas’s centrist Renew Europe.

The EPP, a grouping that includes Fine Gael, has managed to remain the largest group in the European Parliament. It is part of a coalition with Renew Europe, of which Fianna Fáil is a member.

Fine Gael’s four newly-elected MEPs are the only group of Irish politicians in Brussels who have openly backed Von der Leyen’s bid for a second term.

In contrast, Fianna Fáil have been very critical of von der Leyen over her handling of the conflict in Gaza and disagree with her stances on defence policy and the EU.

Speaking on Monday, Tánaiste Micheál Martin told reporters in Luxembourg that a high-level deal had been made between the EPP, Renew, and the S&D -the Irish Labour Party’s European group – to vote for von der Leyen.

But speaking to The Journal, newly-elected Labour MEP Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said he would not be voting for her.

In Brussels earlier today, Taoiseach Simon Harris said he was encouraging Irish MEPs to back von der Leyen. “I think when it comes to MEPS voting for the commission presidents, they’re effectively voting for that commissioner’s team,” he said.

If successful, von der Leyen will then begin considering the allocation of commissioner portfolios.

Ireland is putting forward the departing finance minister Michael McGrath, which Harris said should be taken as a “signal of intent” that the government here is serious about acquiring a significant portfolio.

“I do believe there’s an advantage in having clarity on the name of the Irish commissioner at a relatively early stage,” Harris said.

This evening, Kallas said she is “honoured” to be nominated. In a statement on X, she said: “We must continue working together to ensure Europe is an effective global partner to keep our citizens free, safe and prosperous.”

Lawmakers are also expected to return the EPP’s Roberta Metsola as EU Parliament president.

But even with the centrists in a position of strength, diplomats said there was little appetite for railroading through a deal without a consensus.

Hungary’s nationalist leader Viktor Orban had denounced it as a stitch-up, saying “European voters have been deceived”, though his opposition was not enough to derail the accord, which needed support of 15 out of 27 leaders.

Leaders appeared more concerned to secure buy-in from Italy’s Meloni, who had called the deal-making process “surreal” and accused fellow leaders of acting like “oligarchs”.

Her argument was that the election success of her hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) grouping, set to be the EU Parliament’s third-largest force, as well as Italy’s standing as the bloc’s third-biggest economy, should be reflected in the EU leadership.

‘No Europe without Italy’

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who negotiated the deal for the EPP, sent a strong signal in her direction as the summit opened.

“There is no Europe without Italy, and there’s no decision without Prime Minister Meloni. It’s obvious,” he told reporters, with similar conciliatory sounds coming from Greece and Cyprus.

The same message came from Austria’s centre-right leader Karl Nehammer, who applauded Meloni’s “many good initiatives for the European Union and for security at our external borders”.

Von der Leyen meanwhile appeared to have Meloni in mind with an open letter to EU leaders saying she was open to examining calls for migrants to be processed in third countries – as Italy is already doing.

Short of a seat at the top table, Meloni made clear she wanted an influential role for Italy, starting with a vice presidency in the next European Commission with a say over industry and agriculture.

With France heading to the polls on Sunday for the first round of an election where the far-right National Rally has a chance of leading the government, there was clear eagerness to get the EU jobs squared away.

Top jobs aside, the summit was a new chance to display a united front on Ukraine, whose President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined EU leaders to ink an accord on long-term security commitments, two days after Ukraine began formal membership negotiations.

While hailing the deal, Zelenskyy pointed to the need to take the “next steps” including on air defence, which was needed “urgently on the battlefield”.

Additional reporting from © AFP 2024