BERLIN: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday won the backing of her German centre-right party for a second term, putting her in a strong position to clinch another five years running the European Union's executive body.
At a meeting of the party leadership, Germany's opposition Christian Democrats gave their support to von der Leyen to be their candidate for Commission president. It confirms a widespread assumption that von der Leyen would seek another term.
The 65-year-old former German defence minister is now likely to become the candidate of the pan-European centre-right umbrella group, the European People's Party (EPP), at a congress in Bucharest in March.
"I am taking a very conscious and well-considered decision. I would like to run for a second term in office and I am very grateful to the CDU for nominating me as the top candidate for the EPP today," von der Leyen said at a news conference following the party meeting in Berlin.
The first woman to hold the job, von der Leyen steered the EU through the COVID-19 pandemic, the formal exit of Britain from the bloc and the ructions following Russia's full scale attack of Ukraine in 2022.
She would begin a second term at a time when Europe is focusing on how to strengthen its security, with Russia waging a war on its borders and the possibility of former U.S. President Donald Trump returning to the White House.
At a security conference in Munich at the weekend, von der Leyen said the Commission would present a defence strategy proposal aimed at fostering higher and more efficient spending with joint procurement and agreements to provide predictability to industry.
The leaders of the EU's 27 member countries will choose the Commission president after elections to the European Parliament in June.
By convention, they choose a candidate from the grouping that has come first in the EU elections. As polls show the EPP has a strong lead and von der Leyen enjoys broad backing among EU leaders, she seems likely to win another term.
Despite a rise in far-right populist parties in a number of EU states, the EPP, the oldest group in the European parliament, has kept a large lead over other European groups, according to opinion polls. — Reuters
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