The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, received the endorsement of her conservative political family meeting in Bucharest on Thursday, a new step on her road to a second term.
The campaign is launched: the Congress of the European People’s Party (EPP) – MEPs, party bosses and no fewer than 12 EU heads of state or government – officially endorsed the candidacy of the 65-year-old German.
After a mandate shaken by turbulence, from Covid-19 to the war in Ukraine, the former Minister of Defense wants to remain the face of the EU until 2029.
“We have 90 days before the elections,” she said from the podium, thanking the audience for their “confidence” and their broad “support” (400 votes for, 89 against). “Now it’s time to take to the field and win hearts and minds!”
His compatriot Manfred Weber, the president of the EPP group in Parliament, had previously praised “a solid leader”. With her at the helm, Europe is “in good hands”.
Representative of the first political force
The leading political force in Parliament, the EPP is the favorite in the European elections scheduled for June 6 to 9.
The European vote will lead to a renewal of the leaders of the main EU institutions, including that of the Commission, which must reflect the political balance resulting from the ballot boxes.
Ursula von der Leyen’s assessment “gives her a positive image”, comments Thierry Chopin, special advisor to the Jacques Delors Institute and visiting professor at the College of Europe (Bruges).
The first woman to occupy this position, she knew how to maneuver “in the face of crises, despite sometimes divisive positions” in foreign policy, on China and the Middle East in particular, he said.
A scarecrow for the agricultural sector
Discordant opinions are still being heard, particularly from the French right, which denounces “a form of technocratic drift harming our farmers”.
In the crosshairs, the Green Deal, the main legislative success of the President of the Commission, which has become a scarecrow for the sector mobilized en masse in recent weeks across Europe.
Second group in number of seats, the European socialists launched their offensive this weekend in Rome with the Luxembourger Nicolas Schmit as headliner, insisting on the “importance” of the vote in the face of the threat of a wave ” illiberal” at the ballot box.