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June 28, 2024 – 01:52
(Keystone-ATS) EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday agreed to give Ursula von der Leyen a second term as head of the European Commission. They also appointed Portuguese socialist António Costa as head of the European Council.
The German conservative leader will still have to be confirmed in a vote in the European Parliament, as will Estonia’s liberal prime minister, Kaja Kallas, who has been proposed as head of European diplomacy.
The outcome of the vote in the European Parliament on the reappointment of Mrs von der Leyen, expected in mid-July, is uncertain. The usual coalition of conservatives, socialists and liberals in the European Parliament was indeed weakened in the June elections by the strong rise of the extreme right.
To embody the face of EU diplomacy against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the heads of state and government chose Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, a determined opponent of the Kremlin. This 47-year-old liberal will succeed the Spaniard Josep Borrell. She said she was “honored” by this “enormous responsibility”.
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Finally, the 27 leaders of the European Union (EU) have appointed former Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa as the new president of the European Council, the body that brings together the member states. A year after his resignation over a corruption case that ultimately appears to be poorly supported, this socialist, known for his skillful tactics and pragmatism, will succeed Belgian Charles Michel on December 1.
These three names were widely favored, with the game seemingly decided even before the Brussels summit, following the agreement reached on Tuesday between six European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, belonging to the “grand coalition” right/social democrats/centrists, in the wake of the European elections.
Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban had denounced the deal as “shameful” when he arrived at the summit. “European voters have been deceived. [La droite] formed a coalition of lies with the left and the liberals,” he got carried away,
“Oligarchy”
The head of the ultraconservative Italian government, Giorgia Meloni, left out of the negotiations between the three political groups, had denounced the day before in Rome the actions of an “oligarchy”. Thursday evening, she abstained on Ursula von der Leyen and voted against Kaja Kallas and António Costa, according to a diplomatic source.
A number of leaders had shown themselves to be anxious to spare her. If Giorgia Meloni’s support was not necessary – unanimity was not required – politically her voice counts.
“There is no Europe without Italy and there is no decision without Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. It is obvious,” assured the head of the Polish government, Donald Tusk, from the EPP (right).
Like Viktor Orban, Giorgia Meloni intends to have more influence on the choices of the future executive in Brussels, following the rise of the radical and extreme right during the European elections – notably the ECR group of the Italian leader, which took third place from the centrist family of French President Emmanuel Macron in the European Parliament.
Security, defense and migration
Rome is demanding “at a minimum” a vice-presidency of the European Commission, with a “significant portfolio” to influence industrial and agricultural policy, according to its foreign minister Antonio Tajani.
This meeting of the Twenty-Seven is also being held three days before the early legislative elections in France, for which the National Rally (far right) is largely in the lead.
Asked whether this election “cast a shadow” over the EU, Viktor Orban felt on the contrary that it brought a “ray of sunshine”, believing that “great things can happen on Sunday” in France.
The leaders of the Twenty-Seven also endorsed on Thursday the “strategic agenda”, setting the priorities of the bloc for the next five years, emphasizing security, defense, competitiveness and the fight against irregular immigration in particular. .
