Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected as President of the European Commission – T. Meloni and V. Orban voted against her

At the summit EU Germany's Ursula von der Leyen has been elected to a second term as European Commission President, despite law enforcement scrutiny over her handling of the coronavirus pandemic and her vaccine deals with pharmaceutical companies.

It should be noted that von der Leyen was re-elected by a qualified majority, not unanimously. Georgia Meloni and Viktor Orban refused to vote in favor. It was also decided that former Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa will become the next President of the European Council, while Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kalas will take over as EU High Commissioner. The approval process at the European leaders' dinner was short-lived. It was long behind the scenes work the last few days.

Despite the refusal of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban, the leaders approved the appointments of von der Leyen, Costa and Kalas.

Meloni abstained for von der Leyen and voted against Costa and Kalas, while Viktor Orbán voted against the chairman of the German commission, for Costa and abstained for Kalas.

The “bargaining” for the top posts began late Thursday, shortly after 11 p.m., after the “27” closed their debate on the strategic agenda. Shortly after midnight, it was announced that they had reached an agreement on Costa and Callas, after which von der Leyen's approval was received.

In her post on the X website, Kaja Kalas stressed that she was honoured to be appointed as High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy:

Honored to be nominated as the candidate for High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Your trust means a lot.

We must continue working together to ensure Europe is an effective global partner to keep our citizens free, safe and prosperous. pic.twitter.com/pbQEWjGjA2

— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) June 27, 2024

“Your trust means a lot. We must continue to work together to ensure Europe is an effective global partner, ensuring the freedom and security of our citizens.”

It is with a strong sense of mission that I will take up the responsibility of being the next President of the European Council.

I thank the members of the @EUCouncil for their trust in electing me, @PES_PSE and the @govpt for their support leading up to this decision.

As…

— António Costa (@antoniolscosta) June 27, 2024

In a statement published on the X website, European Council President-elect Antonio Costa confirmed that he will take up his new post on 1 December, when Charles Michel's term ends. “I will be fully committed to strengthening unity between all 27 Member States and will focus on implementing the strategic agenda adopted today by the European Council, which will guide the European Union for the next five years,” he wrote.

Ursula von der Leyen becomes President of the European Commission for another five years.

Former Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa of the Social Democrats will become the next President of the European Council for a 2.5-year term with the possibility of extension..

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kalas of the Liberals will become the next EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy for a five-year term.

Candidates approved by qualified majority (at least 21 countries representing 65% of the population of Europe). After approval by the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen's candidacy will have to undergo a vote in the European Parliament, which is likely to take place on July 18 at the first plenary session of the new European Parliament in Strasbourg. At least 361 votes out of 720 MEPs are required for its approval.

“A very good night for Europe. Congratulations to Ursula von der Leyen, Kaja Calas and Antonio Costa. There are many challenges ahead of us, and we must solve them together,” – wrote Kyriakos Mitsotakis in his post. Of course he “joy” It is not surprising, since both politicians found common ground during the pandemic and, through joint efforts, made good money by acquiring controversial vaccines.

Let us recall that last Tuesday morning, during a teleconference of six negotiators – Mitsotakis and Tusk from the European People's Party, Salts and Sanchez from the Socialists, Macron and Rutte from the Liberals – a consensus was reached between the three political groupings. Earlier, however, France and Germany surprised other leaders in Brussels by jointly calling for a wide range of changes to the strategic agenda over the next five years in a document that came just as debate on the strategic agenda began.

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