Published 18 July 2024 at 15.02
EU. On Thursday, the European Parliament elected Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission. The liberal Belgian politician received 401 votes in a closed vote.
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This will be Ursula von der Leyen's second term as Commission President. She was first elected by the members in July 2019.
Parliament currently consists of 719 members, so the necessary majority was 360 votes. The vote was closed. 401 MEPs voted for, 284 against and 22 abstained or cast invalid votes.
Before the vote, Ursula von der Leyen presented her political priorities for the next five years during a debate with MEPs.
In the debate, Polish member Ewa Zajączkowska-Hernik stood out by accusing the EU boss of filling Europe with illegal immigrants. She also tore up a copy of the EU's immigration pact, amid loud boos from Liberal MPs:
European Parliament Member Ewa Zajaczkowska confronts the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der The ley.
We need more people like Ewa to fight for our countries. Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/NghgFOunjT
— Aleksandra Huk (@HukAleksandra) July 18, 2024
The moderate EU parliamentarian Tomas Tobé, who negotiated the migration pact for von der Leyen in the European Parliament, is one of those expressing his joy at the parliament's election.
Congratulations to my friend and EPP colleague, @vonderleyen, on your re-election as President of the European Commission! Your confident leadership is much needed in these troubled times. I look forward to continued cooperation, combating organized crime and supporting Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/sZGC8QKHWY
— Tomas Tobé (@tomastobe) July 18, 2024
The Commission President-elect will now send official letters to the heads of state and government of the member states, inviting them to propose their candidates for the EU commissioner positions. Parliament will then organize hearings of the candidates in the various committees after the summer. The entire college of commissioners must then be approved by Parliament.
According to Article 14 of the Treaty on European Union, the European Parliament must “elect the President of the Commission”. Ursula von der Leyen has been the president of the commission since 2019 and was the European People's Party's (EPP's) top candidate in the EU elections on June 6-9.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson comments on the vote as follows:
– Ursula von der Leyen has led the Commission with pragmatism and clarity for five years with both the pandemic and Russia's war against Ukraine. Her leadership contributes to stability in an uncertain time. I look forward to continuing that cooperation – for support to Ukraine, for increased competitiveness and for the green transition.