Ursula von der Leyen nominated for re-election as head of the European Commission

The European People's Party has officially named Ursula von der Leyen as its candidate for the post of HEAD of the European Commission. What are her chances of re-election and how did she become one of the key European politicians - in the RBC material Ursula von der Leyen

The European People's Party (EPP) has nominated Ursula von der Leyen as its candidate for the European elections. The decision was made on March 7 at the congress of the largest faction in the European Parliament in Bucharest. The EPP also supported the re-election of the German politician as head of the European Commission.

“Migration, CORONAVIRUS , war, digitalization - the last five years have been difficult for Europe. The EPP under von der Leyen has kept Europe united. Dear Ursula, you can count on the full support of the EPP,” wrote Manfred Weber, leader of the EPP in the European Parliament, on the social network X (Twitter).

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas also applied for the post, but subsequently declined. “I have carefully considered both the pros and cons of this proposal, but have informed the leadership of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe that I will not be taking on this role,” she told a news conference. Politico's source said that they do not want to see Kallas as head of the European Commission because of his too harsh attitude towards Russian citizens. “We will really put in this position someone who prefers to eat Russians for breakfast,” said the publication’s interlocutor.

Von der Leyen herself stated that she intended to seek a second term in the European Commission back in February, having received the support of the CDU, to which she belongs, and explaining that in 2019 she “agreed intuitively” to become the chairman of the EC, and now accepts “an absolutely conscious and thoughtful solution".

Currently, the center-right EPP, which has the largest faction in the European Parliament with 178 seats, is leading in pre-election polls. At the same time, von der Leyen often faces criticism in Brussels; She is reminded of corruption scandals over the years and is accused of abuse of power. Read about how her career developed in the RBC article.

The next elections to the European Parliament will be held on June 6–9, 2024 . After residents of 27 EU countries elect 720 European deputies (their term of office is five years), inter-party negotiations will begin, the result of which will be the identification of key contenders for the post of heads of the European Council, the European External Action Service and the European Commission.

The European Commission  is the main executive body of the EU , which is responsible for developing laws and political programs, and also implements decisions of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. The EC is responsible for distributing EU finances: together with these two structures, they set priorities for the union's expenses. In addition, the European Commission represents all countries of the union in international bodies.

The chairman (president) of the commission is elected in accordance with Art. 17 of the Treaty on European Union. The EU Council, by a qualified majority vote, proposes its candidate for this post, taking into account the results of the elections to the European Parliament. Next, the candidacy must be approved by a majority vote of European parliamentarians. The term of office of the head of the European Commission is five years (with the possibility of re-election).

The head of the EC, together with the EU Council, forms its composition: 27 European Commissioners, one from each EU country. The chairman's responsibilities also include setting the political agenda, representing the commission at EU Council meetings, G7 and G20 summits and major debates in the European Parliament.

How von der Leyen entered politics

Ursula von der Leyen was born and spent her childhood in Brussels, where her parents moved because her father, Ernst Albrecht, got a job in the structures of the newly created European Commission. In 1971, the family returned to Germany and settled in the suburbs of Hannover, where Ursula, who spoke German and French equally well, graduated from high school. She then studied economics at the universities of Göttingen and Münster.

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In the late 1970s, when her father was Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, German intelligence services received information that the left-wing terrorist organization Red Army Faction (RAF) was preparing an assassination attempt on the von der Leyen family and that Ursula might be kidnapped. The latter had to go to London under a false name , where she was under police protection for about a year and also attended classes at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Upon her return, the girl decided to change her educational path and study medicine at the Hannover Medical School, from which she graduated in 1987. She continued her career in this field: from 1988 to 1992, she worked as an assistant physician at a university clinic, and then, after receiving her doctorate, she taught at the Graduate Medical School.

Ursula joined the CDU in 1990 and for several years was active in the party at state level. In 2003, von der Leyen entered the Lower Saxony parliament and became the regional government's minister for social affairs, women, family and HEALTH. And two years later, during Angela Merkel's first chancellor term , she received the portfolio of Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. Being herself a mother of seven children, she initiated significant changes in legislation in this area: in particular, it was at the instigation of von der Leyen that fathers received the right to take maternity leave in Germany and every child over 12 months was guaranteed a place in kindergarten. In 2009, she became the German Minister of Labor and Public Affairs, and in 2013, the first woman to head the German Ministry of Defense.

Von der Leyen's effectiveness in this post was rated low by her colleagues. The minister blamed her predecessors for numerous problems of the Bundeswehr, but at the end of her mandate the state of the German army remained critical with a significant increase in government spending on defense. According to a 2018 report by Bundestag Commissioner for Armed Forces Hans-Peter Bartels, the Bundeswehr suffered from shortages at all levels, from personnel to equipment.

In addition, von der Leyen was embroiled in a corruption scandal in the defense department in 2018. Already as head of the European Commission, she had to testify before the Bundestag investigative committee in the case of multimillion-dollar contracts between the Ministry of Defense and external consultants. Auditors of the Federal Audit Chamber questioned the legality of payments that private consulting companies McKinsey and Accenture received under von der Leyen (the ministry spent €155 million on their services in the first half of 2019 alone). The Chamber also reproached the department for the unreasonable distribution of funds for the program for the rehabilitation of Syrian refugees: the Bundeswehr allocated about €23 thousand for each participant, despite the fact that, according to auditors, similar programs cost only €1.8 thousand per participant.

Von der Leyen's rapid political career has led to speculation that she will succeed Merkel as chancellor. However, apparently, a series of failures in the field of defense played a negative role. When the politician decided to head the European Commission, the Social Democrats commented on this very sarcastically: “Von der Leyen is our weakest minister. This, apparently, is enough to become the head of the commission,” former head of the European Parliament Martin Schulz wrote on social networks at the time. And Vice-President of the European Parliament Katharina Barley, who then served as head of the German Ministry of Justice, argued that von der Leyen would not cope with the new position.

However, as The Guardian noted, von der Leyen’s effective actions in organizing the NATO mission in the Aegean Sea in response to the 2016 migration crisis allowed her to gain trust in Brussels structures.

How von der Leyen acted at the head of the European Commission

Ursula von der Leyen became head of the European Commission at the age of 60. Her presidency included challenges such as the pandemic, the energy crisis , and military operations in Ukraine and the Middle East. During the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, she acted decisively: while the leaders of the EU countries could not agree on an aid package for the territories most affected by covid-19 , the European Commission developed a rescue plan for the EU economy worth €750 billion (exceeding the proposal of Merkel and French President Emmanuel by €250 billion Macron).

At the same time, another corruption scandal was associated with the pandemic. The New York Times sued von der Leyen in January 2023 for refusing to publish correspondence with the head of Pfizer, which developed one of the COVID-19 vaccines. It was about concluding a contract for the purchase of 1.8 billion doses for the needs of the EU. The head of the EC was suspected of having “direct influence” on the negotiation process and that the number of purchased vaccines could significantly exceed the needs.

After February 24, 2022, the head of the European Commission became one of the main voices in Europe advocating unconditional support for Ukraine and the EU’s abandonment of Russian energy resources. She visited Kiev seven times and consistently insists on tightening sanctions against RUSSIA, supporting Ukraine's accession to the EU and NATO.

In addition, against the background of the conflict in Ukraine, the European Commission announced large-scale reforms in the defense industry and on March 5 presented the EU military-industrial strategy, which provides for significant investments in expanding the production of military equipment and ammunition in the union.

Von der Leyen has repeatedly said that the EU should prepare for the possible transfer of military operations to NATO territory. “The risks of war should not be exaggerated, but we should be prepared for them,” she said in the European Parliament on February 28. At the same time, the head of the EC allowed the use of profits from Russian frozen assets to purchase military equipment in the interests of Kyiv.

However, von der Leyen's uncompromising position on the conflict in the Middle East caused discontent in Brussels structures. Some senior EU officials have been angered by her statements of unconditional solidarity with Israel as the union seeks to maintain a low profile in the war. “She is increasingly acting like a queen,” one EU source told Politico.

Von der Leyen was also accused of lack of coordination with EU leaders on the issue of anti-Russian sanctions, since the European Commission keeps the contents of the new packages secret until the last moment. Politico notes that so far public criticism of the head of the EC has only been heard from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, but the June elections may show the scale of dissatisfaction with it in other countries.

The recent rise in popularity of the far-right and Eurosceptics may derail von der Leyen's re-election plans, experts admit. A right-wing populist coalition of conservatives, Eurosceptics, far-right and independent deputies could emerge in the European Parliament, and this could significantly complicate the search for 361 MEPs ready to vote for a second term for von der Leyen as President of the European Commission.