All eyes are on Berlin regarding the future of the European Union, as it appears from circles of the European People’s Party (EPP), at the meeting of the Christian Democratic Party of Germany scheduled for tomorrow Monday, the Ursula von der Leyen will announce her candidacy for a second five-year term as president of the European Commission.
With the term of the president and members of the European Commission coming to an end alongside the European elections in June, the fact that Von der Leyen has not yet officially announced her intention to continue in her post, even though the EPP has been pressing her to do so immediately, it has triggered a series of scenarios.
The scripts
Of these scenarios, the one that “played” the strongest, triggering a multitude of publications in the European press in the past period, concerns the possibility of Von der Leyen claiming the post of NATO secretary general. It is recalled that the term of office of the current secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Jens Stoltenbergwhich was due to expire in the summer of 2023, was decided to be extended until October 2024. Both the timing and the CV of von der Leyen, who has served for five and a half years as Germany’s defense minister, make her one of the most likely candidates for the position, if of course he does not continue at the helm of the European Commission.
But who could succeed her in a position of such pivotal importance for the EU? The name of the former Prime Minister of Italy and former President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi is what is being whispered in the corridors of Brussels. According to reports in both Italy and France, Draghi reportedly has the support of the French president Emmanuel Macron.
Support outside ECL
At the same time, prominent officials of other European parties, such as the Belgian MEP of the Greens Philip Lambertspublicly express their opinion that Mrs. von der Leyen should renew her term: “If we want the European Green Deal 2.0 to have a chance of becoming a reality, we must support it,” he emphasized in a recent interview, characterizing the German, born in Brussels, politician the “greenest president in the history of the Commission and the best since the time of Jacques Delors”.
On the other hand, if the president of the European Commission ultimately excludes herself from running for a new term, the president of the European People’s Party Manfred Weber is expected to move for this position. It is recalled that Weber was supported by the EPP for the position of president of the European Commission in 2019 as well. However, the inability to reach a consensus in his person led to the search for an alternative option, with the leaders of the member states ending up with Von der Leyen .
The Socialists
At the same time, the second largest European party, the Socialists, have already announced their own presidential candidate since January 18, Nicola Smith. But with all opinion polls again showing the EPP in the lead in the upcoming European elections, leaving the Socialists in clear second place, the 70-year-old current Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights from Luxembourg is considered particularly difficult to become the new president of the Commission.
Von der Leyen herself, although she has been asked several times directly, has not clarified her intentions. Her candidacy, if finally announced, is expected to be officially ratified on March 6-7 at the EPP conference in Bucharest.
#Ursula #Commission
