German leaders Olaf Scholz (l), Italian Giorgia Meloni (c) and Hungarian Viktor Orban (d) at the EU summit on June 27, 2024 in Brussels (AFP / JOHN THYS)
EU leaders agreed at a summit on Thursday to give Ursula von der Leyen a second term as Commission chief and hand over European diplomacy to a strong voice on Ukraine, Estonian Kaja Kallas.
The reappointment of the German conservative leader will have to be confirmed by an absolute majority of MEPs: the outcome of the vote, expected in mid-July, is uncertain: the usual coalition of conservatives, socialists and liberals in the European Parliament having been weakened during the June elections by the strong push 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 have chosen Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas – a determined opponent of the Kremlin. This 47-year-old liberal will succeed the Spaniard Josep Borrell.
Finally, they appointed former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa as new president of the European Council, the body which brings together member states. A year after his resignation for a corruption affair which ultimately seems poorly substantiated, this socialist, renowned as a skillful tactician and pragmatist, will succeed the Belgian Charles Michel on December 1st.
These three names were largely favourites, with the game seemingly over even before the Brussels summit, following the agreement reached on Tuesday between six European leaders – including the French Emmanuel Macron and the German Olaf Scholz – belonging to the right-wing/social-democrats/centrists “grand coalition”, in the wake of the European elections.
Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban had castigated a “shameful” arrangement upon arriving at the summit: “European voters have been deceived. (The right) has formed a coalition of lies with the left and the liberals,” he had raged.
The head of the ultraconservative Italian government, Giorgia Meloni, left out of the negotiations between the three political groups, had denounced the actions of an “oligarchy” the day before in Rome.
On Thursday evening, she abstained on Ursula von der Leyen and voted against Kaja Kallas and Antonio Costa, according to a diplomatic source.
– “Portfolio important” –
A certain number of leaders had shown themselves keen to spare her: if the support of Giorgia Meloni was not necessary – unanimity not being required -, politically her voice counts.
“There is no Europe without Italy, and there is no decision without Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, that is obvious,” assured the head of the Polish government, Donald Tusk, from the PPE (right).
Like Viktor Orban, Giorgia Meloni intends to weigh more on the choices of the future executive in Brussels, following the surge 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.
Rome claims “at a minimum” a vice-presidency of the European Commission, with an “important portfolio” to influence industrial and agricultural policy, according to its Minister of Foreign Affairs 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.
In front of the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels, April 12, 2024 (AFP / Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD)
Asked whether this election “cast a shadow” over the EU, Viktor Orban said on the contrary that it brought a “ray of sunshine”, believing that “great things can happen (in France) on Sunday” .
For his part, President Macron announced Thursday during a meeting of his liberal allies his intention to reappoint Thierry Breton as French member of the European Commission, according to European sources: since 2019 he has been Commissioner for the Internal Market, a vast portfolio which includes digital and industry.
The leaders of the Twenty-Seven also endorsed the “strategic agenda” on Thursday, setting the bloc’s priorities for the next five years, emphasizing security, defense, competitiveness and the fight against irregular immigration in particular. .
Among other key EU posts, Maltese conservative Roberta Metsola appears favourite to be re-elected for a second two-and-a-half-year term as head of the European Parliament, following a vote by MEPs in the first plenary session following the June mid-July poll in Strasbourg.
