Ursula von der Leyen has been nominated for a second term as Head of the European Commission.
Estonia’s Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, was also nominated to be the next high representative for foreign affairs.
Under the agreement, reached despite resistance from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa was named to head the European Council.
While Costa will automatically succeed the President of the European Council, Charles Michel this year, von der Leyen and Kallas will need to win the legislature’s backing in order to be confirmed in their positions.
The vote will take place in July.
The three won broad backing from the EU leaders, although according to diplomats, Italy’s Meloni abstained from the vote on von der Leyen and voted against Costa and Kallas.
The diplomats added that Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, also on the hard right, voted against von der Leyen and did not vote for Kallas.
Meloni said on social media platform X that she decided not to support the leadership slate “out of respect for the citizens and the indications that came from those citizens during the elections.”
Von der Leyen expressed her “gratitude” to EU leaders for backing her for a second term and told reporters she would soon outline her political priorities with a view to winning the confidence of parliament.
Addressing the press by videolink, Costa declared himself “committed to promoting unity” among member states.
Costa said, “Europe and the world are facing challenging moments, yes, but the European Union has demonstrated its resilience in the past.”
Kallas, meanwhile, said that she had been handed “an enormous responsibility” at a time of acute geopolitical tensions.
“There’s war in Europe, but there’s also growing instability globally, that also are the main challenges for the European foreign policy,” she said.
“My aim is definitely to work for the European unity, protect European interests, values in the charged geopolitical context, and build global partnerships as well, which is very important at this time. So I will strive to work with the member states as well as all the institutions.”
Kaja Kallas
The next step, she said, is to focus on hearings at the European parliament.
Kallas also said that it’s an honour also for Estonia, which has been a member of the EU for 20 years.
“It’s a rather symbolic anniversary,” she added.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed the “quick, forward-looking” decisions on the top jobs, saying the nominees would “ensure that Europe is well positioned in challenging times in the coming years.”
Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister, said, “I am satisfied that together with other European leaders we selected the right people for the job.”
“My priority was to show that Europe is stable and predictable. Ursula von der Leyen will ensure that. Kaja Kallas understands the risks coming from Russia and Belarus. She understands Polish sensitivities. I am also looking forward to welcoming back my experienced colleague Prime Minister Costa at the helm of the European Council table.”
Donald Tusk
“Now, we can move on to implementing the programme and strengthen Europe’s defence capability,” he added.
Kremlin Labels EU-Russia Ties Outlook As Bad
Following the EU leaders’ nomination of Von der Leyen and Kallas, the Kremlin said that the outlook for EU-Russia ties was bad.
“Mrs von der Leyen is not in favour of normalising relations between the EU and Russia. That’s how we know her, that’s how we remember her. Nothing changes in this respect,” Peskov said.
Commenting on the choice of Kallas for EU foreign policy chief, Peskov said that she was known for her anti-Russian rhetoric.
“Mrs Kallas has not demonstrated any diplomatic inclinations so far either, and is well known in our country for her absolutely intransigent and sometimes even openly anti-Russian statements.
“Therefore, we do not think that European diplomacy will contribute in any way to the normalisation of relations.”
Dmitry Peskov
“The prospects, in terms of relations between Moscow and Brussels, are bad,” he asserted.
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