The leaders of the European Union (EU) meeting at a summit agreed on Thursday to grant a second mandate to Ursula von der Leyen at the head of the Commission and entrust European diplomacy to a strong voice on Ukraine, the 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 was 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, 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.
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 widely favored, the games seeming to be made even before the Brussels summit, following the agreement concluded Tuesday between six European leaders – including the Frenchman Emmanuel Macron and the German Olaf Scholz – belonging to the right-wing “grand coalition”. / social democrats / centrists, in the wake of the European elections.
Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban had denounced the arrangement as “shameful” upon arriving at the summit: “European voters have been deceived. [La droite] formed a coalition of lies with the left and the liberals,” he had raged,
The head of the ultra-conservative 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.
Thursday evening, she abstained on Ursula von der Leyen and voted against Kaja Kallas and Antonio Costa, according to a diplomatic source.
“Significant portfolio”
A number of leaders had shown themselves to be careful 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, that is obvious,” assured the head of the Polish government, Donald Tusk, from the PPE (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 the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the European Parliament.
Rome is demanding “at a minimum” a vice-presidency of the European Commission, with an “important portfolio” to influence industrial and agricultural policy, according to its Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
This meeting of the Twenty-Seven is also taking place three days before the early legislative elections in France, in which the National Rally (extreme right) is widely expected to be in the lead.
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 [en France] 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 positions, Maltese conservative Roberta Metsola appears favorite to be reappointed for a second two-and-a-half-year term at the head of the European Parliament, following a vote by MEPs during the first plenary session following the June mid-July ballot in Strasbourg.