Ursula von der Leyen has been re-elected because the President of the European Fee following a secret poll amongst MEPs.
She secured the backing of 401 Members of the European Parliament at a vote in Strasbourg on Thursday – 41 greater than she wanted.
Ms von der Leyen, of the centre-right European Individuals’s Celebration (EPP), was first elected in 2019.
She’s going to now serve one other 5 years on the helm of the EU.
“You may think about this can be a very emotional and particular second for me,” she stated after the vote, hailing the end result as an indication of sturdy confidence.
In a speech to MEPs earlier on Thursday, Ms von der Leyen stated she would champion European defence with elevated army spending, and dedicated to sticking to local weather targets.
She additionally spoke out in opposition to what she referred to as the “demagogues and extremists” that “destroy our European lifestyle” and promised to collaborate with “all of the democratic forces” within the Parliament.
“The final 5 years have proven what we are able to do collectively. Allow us to do it once more. Allow us to make the selection of energy,” she stated.
Ms von der Leyen’s nomination was authorised at an EU leaders’ summit final month, though not all of them backed her.
Earlier than the vote she succeeded in profitable the help of her personal centre-right European Individuals’s Celebration (EPP), the Socialist & Democrats, the liberal Renew and Greens, though not all of their members voted for her.
She was opposed by 284 MEPs. Far-right groupings, together with the largest and newly fashioned Patriots for Europe, have been vehemently in opposition to her being given a second time period.
There was rapid reward from European leaders for her re-election, with Germany’s Olaf Scholz saying it was a”clear signal of our capacity to behave within the European Union, particularly in troublesome instances”.
The opposite two massive EU jobs might be stuffed by António Costa, a former Socialist prime minister in Portugal, who will head the European Council, which represents the 27 EU governments; and by Estonia’s Kaja Kallas who has stepped down as prime minister to turn out to be the EU’s international affairs chief.
